22 January 2009

week 04

The Handball World Cup How RTL Televizija produces the biggest sport event in Croatia for an international audience

Luxembourg Germany Gerhard Zeiler on the The biggest vocal auditions future of the British TV of all time landscape Asia France Vietnam crowns its second Idol Groupe M6 keeps revenues almost stable week 0

COVER: Montage with Croatia’s handball player Mateo Hrvatin

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“Magic formula” RTL Televizija is the host broadcaster of Handball World Cup 2009. 24 teams competing in six Croatian cities – RTL Televizija, not yet 5 years old, the host broadcaster for this championship. Croatia - 22 January 2009

While providing pictures and sound for broad- cameras in the second part of the champions- casters worldwide since 16 January, the chan- hip, the semi-finals and the finals match. As a nel presents to his own audience 27 matches bonus, RTL Televizija is also organising public live, as well as live reports from other matches, screenings of matches played at the Split arena and special reports presenting the teams. and interesting matches from other groups in a tent at the Prokurative in Split. The topics covered in the special broadcasts are truly diverse. RTL Televizija has a great deal The offer to foreign channels includes footage to offer viewers, with information ranging from and stories from all six World Cup cities and pre-game events and mental preparation of the their arenas, national team profiles, the best handball players, to the stars of the cham- players in the world, portraits about the top pionship, national team profiles and entertain- head coaches, reviews of handball legends, ment of the handball fans. As well as live and emotional footage of the spectacular fans. reports from all the cities and arenas, where RTL Televizija’s production team is also alloca- RTL Televizija’s reporters interview fans and ting Satellite News Gathering crews, Electronic celebrities, the channel also invites Croatian News Gathering crews, editing suites, office handball legends to give their forecast for spaces equipped with computers and internet upcoming games and presents Croatia’s rising access, and live or taped play-outs to foreign handball stars. Expert commentary from the broadcasters. studio, daily shows with highlights from the tournament, and special editions of existing On the occasion of the Handball World Cup, programmes give viewers a comprehensive Ivan Lovrecek, RTL Televizija’s Editor in Chief, range of information about handball. explained the great importance of the event to Backstage. As the host broadcaster, RTL Televizija has made television production a top priority. With What importance does the Handball World the help of international experts from the sports Cup have for Croatia in general, and RTL rights agency Sportfive and the Belgian com- Televizija in particular? pany AlfaCam, RTL Televizija is using technolo- The Handball World Cup is the largest sporting gy that is not even officially available yet in event hosted by Croatia in the past 20 years Croatia. Supported by its Croatian partners and carries great national importance because Robago and Masterfilm, RTL Televizija is wor- of that. At the same time, handball is one of the king to the highest standards of television tech- most popular sports in Croatia – people love to nology, seen for the first time in handball: watch it, and our national team is one of the a total of 17 cameras are used in the transmis- best in the world. That’s why I think that the sions of the group matches and there will be 19 Handball World Cup is a magic formula for suc-

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cess: the entire country has an opportunity to present itself to the world as a host and a glo- bal force in handball. That’s exactly where RTL Televizija found its spot in this project. Our task as host broadcaster is to transmit great hand- ball games, and the fantastic atmosphere which follows them, to the world from six Croatian cities – Osijek, Varazdin, Porec, Split, Zadar and capital city of Zagreb. In this way, RTL Televizija also shows that it’s ready to take on major television projects, as borne out by the excellent ratings earned.

What challenges does RTL Televizija face as host broadcaster? We have had months of hard work preparing for the project and the programming we want to offer to viewers during the 16 days of the championship. It was very important to us to Ivan Lovrecek, Editor in Chief, RTL Televizija meet extremely high production standards for the World Handball Championship broadcasts. Producing such an event is a very complex undertaking and we had to be completely sure that everything goes well. Now that the cham- pionship has begun I can say we are succee- ding at that. I’m extremely proud of the team we have gathered around the project – we have the best people, who have invested enormous energy into the Handball World Cup project.

What impact do you personally expect from the Handball World Cup? I expect that the final match will feature Croatia and Germany and that we will set a new audience record in Croatia with that broadcast, and the broadcast will also set a new record in terms of number of people watching handball around the world! But what’s most important to me is that we show our viewers a whole new dimension of sports events broadcasting during this World Handball Championship. Our task is to communicate the strong emotions of the handball players and fans in Croatian cities and arenas. Emotions are the reason why peo- ple love watching sports so much. If viewers following this championship on television expe- rience emotions close to those of the fans in the arenas, we will have done an excellent job.

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Handball World Cup coverage in Germany

Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland has acquired the exclusive Free TV rights to Germany to the World Cup and will be broadcasting handball to various platforms:

During the Handball World Cup until 1 February 2009, RTL Television’s viewers are treated to live broadcasts of all matches featuring the German national team, plus the final, including comprehensive advance and follow-up coverage. The matches are scheduled to be broadcast in access prime time at 17:30. RTL Television is broadcasting the games using the “Worldfeed” provided by RTL Televizija and the sports rights marketer Sportfive. Additionally, RTL Television uses extra cameras and analysis procedures for the previews and follow-up reporting. A Spidercam – a camera system involving ropes that allow the camera to move freely through space in the arena, both along and above the playing field – is used for the first time in handball. For instance, the rapid pace of fastbreaks can be documented from this dynamic bird’s-eye view. The Antelope, a high-speed super-slow motion camera that cap- tures around 250 images per second, also made its handball debut, slowing down the real speed of scenes from the game. “We’re not exactly reinventing handball reporting, but will set innovative accents in the presentation of the games and their analysis, as we have done for other sports in the past,” promises Manfred Loppe, Head of RTL Television’s sports broadcasting.

Meanwhile, N-TV reports directly from Croatia and provide match summaries after each encounter played by the German national team. In addition, every morning beginning at approximately 7:15 the Sport Spezial – Handball Frühstück provides hourly background reports, interviews and analyses until noon.

Until 1 February 2009, all handball matches involving the German team, as well as the final, are available as live-stream videos on RTL.de. Both RTL.de and Sport.de are running a Handball World Cup special. Clipfish.de has set up a separate Handball World Cup channel, and N-TV.de is serving up a three-week special with the latest summary tables and news sto- ries related to the handball tournament.

The RTL Mobil portal treats handball fans to an extensive mobile handball special featur- ing a live ticker, user polls, mobile downloads, team por- traits and a quiz.

The German national handball team shooting a trailer for RTL Television

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Gerhard Zeiler on the future of the British TV landscape On 19 January, the Financial Times ran an editorial by RTL Group CEO Gerhard Zeiler. In it, Zeiler talked about the future of public broadcasting in Britain and argued for a merger between Channel 4 and Five. Gerhard Zeiler Luxembourg - 19 January 2009

The United Kingdom has a strong tradition of between Channel 4 and Five,” public-service broadcasting. In addition to the arguing that joint projects – or publicly funded BBC there is also Channel 4, a ‘Public Private Partnerships’ – state-owned commercial public service broad- are being forged in many sec- caster, as well as the two commercial broad- tors. “If the government can be Read the full casters ITV and Five, which also have signifi- a main shareholder in several of editorial on cant public-service obligations imposed as part the leading banks, why would it of their licence to broadcast. not consider a public/private Backstage partnership in broadcasting?” In Five and Channel 4 are similar in many ways, an interview with the FT, Zeiler also writes Zeiler in the Financial Times, and lists the made it clear that Britain’s government shared characteristics: both are funded by would own the majority in such a possible advertising, both commission programmes joint venture. “The whole point of it is to run it from outside producers rather than making as efficiently as possible with at least as much them in-house and both are reliant on a mix of PSB programming as now, if not more, without home-grown and acquired programming. „A spending more taxpayers’ money.” merger that brings together two such comple- mentary broadcasters would create a much stronger operator,” explains Zeiler.

Channel 4 is battling financing difficulties in the current economic downturn and had announced layoffs and other cost-cutting mea- sures. Zeiler said that the British government was seeking a solution that protected public service broadcasting while ensuring that Channel 4 was not draining the public purse. He added: “That solution could be a merger

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Biggest vocal auditions of all time The popular show series Deutschland sucht den Superstar hit the headlines again even before the start of the season. On 21 January, the series entered its sixth season. Germany - 21 January 2009

From September to November, 31.098 people star producer Dieter Bohlen. There have also auditioned in 15 German cities, hoping to step been some changes to the concept: the recalls in Thomas Godoj’s footsteps. This is a new have been extended to four days on which 150 record for Deutschland sucht den Superstar, candidates will face different tasks before the and comes as no surprise given the track final 15 are left over for the live show Jetzt oder record of last year’s winner Godoj: his album nie – after which the last ten finalists will com- Plan A sold more than 200.000 units and ship- pete in the Mottoshows to determine the sea- ped platinum, and his single Love Is You went son’s Superstar. gold after selling more than 150.000 units. Highlights from the auditions will be shown in Season five of Deutschland sucht den the first six episodes of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, from 23 January 2008 to 17 May Superstar. 2008 was watched by an average 5.34 million viewers, or 18 per cent of the total market. “Deutschland sucht den Superstar offers both: Among viewers aged 14 to 49, the market for viewers, it’s a chance to leave behind their share was a strong 29.5 per cent. Thomas daily rut and get emotionally involved with the Godoj emerged as the Superstar 2008 during stories, the dreams, the failure and success of the finale, scoring 62.02 per cent of viewer all these young people wanting to be singers,” votes. In October 2008, Deutschland sucht den said Tom Sänger, Head of Entertainment at RTL Superstar won its second German TV Award for Television, in an interview with the DPA newswi- ‘Best Entertainment Programme’. Deutschland re. “For the candidates, Deutschland sucht den sucht den Superstar is a Grundy Light Superstar serves as a kind of job application Entertainment production. training. It gives them a chance to see where they are, how they look, and what their To accompany the show series, RTL Television strengths and weaknesses are in terms of will air Deutschland sucht den Superstar – Das musical talent, personal magnetism and perso- Magazin Saturdays at 17:45 starting 24 nality.” January. The magazine show hosted by Nina Moghaddam presents loads of background Season six comes with a new judging panel: information about the show and the contes- MTV moderator Nina Eichinger (27) and Volker tants. Starting Monday 26 January at 20:15 Neumüller (39), manager to musicians and Deutschland sucht den Superstar – The superstars, will judge contestants alongside Magazin will also air on Super RTL.

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All the world’s a-jungle! In season four of the jungle show Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! (I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here!), fans are guaranteed enter- tainment not only in the daily TV episodes: RTL Interactive’s digital offerings ensure round-the-clock jungle fun as well. Presenters of Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! Germany - 19 January 2009

The infotainment portal RTL.de is publishing a special site in a jungle design. Apart from blogs (Internet diaries) by moderators Sonja Zietlow, Dirk Bach and and the reigning jungle king , RTL.de and the video- clip portal Clipfish.de exclusive video footage from the jungle camp. Other features include live video chats with Ross Antony and the can- didates and moderators, a video quiz, online voting, and online games like ‘Jungle Run’, ‘Bach auf dem Bach’ (Bach in Action) and ‘Jungle Kick’.

On Clipfish.de, RTL reporter Malte Kruber pro- vides a commentary on the day’s stories and events from Australia in Malte’s Jungle Book. Fans can watch the full-length show, anytime and free of charge, on the video-on-demand portal RTLnow.de. Mobile phone users can check out RTL’s mobile portal at Mobil.rtl.de for the latest news and updates, as well as free video highlights. Portraits of all the candidates, the day’s news and recaps, along with all jungle trial statistics are posted on RTL Text (Page 850).

Traffic to all the websites increased drastically Gundis Zámbó since the premiere of Ich bin ein Star – Holt The show’s peak market share among young mich hier raus! had been aired. For instance, audiences is currently at 37.7 per cent (25.8 per video views related to the show across all plat- cent total audience share). The season scored forms (RTL.de, RTLnow.de and Clipfish.de) its peak total audience share on 20 January, have tripled compared to the first three days of when 5.95 million viewers watched as model the jungle show. In comparison to the time and actress Gundis Zámbó climbed into a bath before the show Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier tub for her trial. raus!, visits to Clipfish.de have increased by 25 per cent. RTL.de has increased its daily visit figures by 40 per cent year on year – but that may also be largely due to the integration of Wetter.de on the RTL homepage, coupled with the current unpredictable weather in Germany.

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TV and internet complement each other Media use is on the rise. Over 50 per cent of Germans now go online – while still continuing to watch plenty of TV. People who like to surf the internet also watch a lot of TV. Germany - 20 January 2009

Television is standing its ground in the media mix. TV use in Germany remained strong in 2008 with 178 minutes watched by the 14 to Read more on 49 years old target group, and actually ip-deutschland.de grew by three minutes among young audiences, to 136 minutes per day. At In the demographic of ‘heavy’ internet users, the same time, internet usage i.e. people who spend more than 180 minutes a remained high. This development day online, 34 per cent also watch a lot of TV, is mirrored in many other industriali- that is up to 300 minutes, with 16 per cent wat- sed countries. A European comparison also ching even more (according to TNS shows that the rapid growth in internet use is Convergence Monitor 2008). not occurring at the expense of TV. Even in Britain, where the internet use with a rab of 73.6 Media studies have independently confirmed per cent well above the average European, the this trend. MindSet 2007 and TNS average TV viewing time of 233 minutes is as Convergence Monitor 2008 both indicate that high as in Italy (239 minutes), where only 38.7 media use is increasingly occurring in combina- per cent of the population are online. tion. The motivation of TV users is quite diffe- rent from those who use the internet. Television is still number one for editorial content – by a considerable margin. For entertainment, 91 per cent of users switch on the TV, while 83 per cent rely on it to keep abreast of the news. On the internet, the choice falls between editorial content and service offerings. Editorial offers online are mainly used to verify background information and to get answers to spur-of-the- moment questions. But service is the predomi- nant theme in internet usage. Users go online mainly to read or write e-mails, make online purchases and stay in touch with their contacts. So motives for using the internet and TV not only differ, they also complement each other perfectly.

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Energy and enthusiasm Foreign correspondent Antonia Rados, having recently returned to Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, is resuming her work as a reporter for RTL Television and N-TV. Germany - 16 January 2009

Antonia Rados, 55, flew to Afghanistan on 13 January, shortly before the new US President Barack Obama was sworn in, to report on the situation in this country racked by war and instability. In addition to reporting on current events for the RTL and N-TV news shows, Rados, a Middle East expert who has won numerous awards for her documentaries on cri- sis-torn regions, will be doing research for a longer feature during her stay in Afghanistan – and will also produce an exclusive video blog for RTLaktuell.de. Antonia Rados Antonia Rados says: “I am approaching my new assignment for Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm and will initially explore the current situation of the country in Afghanistan and report on what awaits the future US president, who has announced a massive reinforcement of troops, here. In addition to current events coverage, I also want to start producing longer reportage and documentary features in the world’s major crisis regions again.”

Rados won the German TV Prize and the Hanns-Joachim Friedrichs Award for her war time coverage from Iraq. She had left in spring 2008 to join ZDF, where she was to work for the Heute-Journal. In November, RTL Television had announced her return to Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland.

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Groupe M6 keeps revenues stable Economic crisis notwithstanding, and in spite of an economy that was already very tense during the last quarter of the year, Groupe M6 was able to keep its revenues for 2008 very nearly stable at over EUR 1.3 billion France - 21 January 2009

Groupe M6 outperformed the market, closing Groupe M6 increased its full-year revenues the year with consolidated revenues of EUR from digital channels and other media (apart 1.354 billion, after EUR 1.356 billion in 2007. It from the main channel) by 40.3 per cent, from gained additional market share in terms of both EUR 67.7 million in 2007 to EUR 94.9 million in audience share and advertising market share. 2008. This was driven among other things by The channel M6 scored the highest ratings in the successful performance of the digital chan- its history during the broadcast of the European nel W9 which, of all channels in the group, Championship match France v. Italy, which was added the most viewers in 2008. In December watched by 13.2 million people. W9 attracted 2.2 per cent of viewers aged four years and older. A year earlier, in December Although Groupe M6 won’t be publishing its 2007, its share of the market was 1.3 per cent. detailed figures for the year until a few weeks from now, on 20 January it announced its Overall advertising revenues increased by 1.3 annual revenue figures along with the figures per cent in 2008, to EUR 752.9 million, whereas for the last quarter in 2008. The group mana- those generated by the channel M6 declined by ged to slightly grow its consolidated fourth- 2.6 per cent to EUR 658 million. The group’s quarter revenues by 0.3 per cent year on year, non advertising revenues for the year came to to EUR 374.6 million. This result is owed main- EUR 602 million, after EUR 612.8 million in ly to a 4.4 per cent increase in non advertising 2007. Revenues generated online by M6 Web revenues, from EUR 162 million to EUR 169 came to EUR 86.7 million, up by 17.4 per cent million. year-on-year.

Advertising revenues from digital channels and other media also showed a particularly strong increase, rising by 29.5 per cent. In absolute figures, however, this accounts for a relatively minor, EUR 29.2 million contribution to total revenues. For comparison: fourth-quarter ad sales for the channel M6 amounted to EUR 176.3 million, down by 6.6 per cent year on year.

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Groupe M6 means football, too This weekend, Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of Groupe M6 and shareholder in les Girondins de Bordeaux, spoke to Le Figaro about his football club, its recent successes, careful management and future ambitions. France - 20 January 2009

On Sunday 11 January, les Girondins de Bordeaux gave a brilliant demonstration of their talents in a match against Paris St Germain that ended with a resounding 4 to 0 score. The club wants to carve out a place for itself high on the list in the championship. “We play attractive football. Why shouldn’t we snatch the title if our Nicolas de Tavernost rivals slip up? It would be a great way to cele- brate 10 years of M6’s shareholding in the club”, says Nicolas de Tavernost.

He mentions that his management is ambitious but careful, the competitive aspect not related to its prerogatives. It is the club’s president, Jean-Louis Triaud, who makes decisions freely within the allowed budget. Bordeaux, a true “worker ant”, has not incurred any debt and has even reported positiv figures for five years. Today it stands strong against the other clubs, the proverbial “grasshoppers” that have been hit harder by the current economic crisis.

Le Figaro mentions the quality of play of the Girondins and asks if it raises a certain amount of pride. As Nicolas de Tavernost says, “People don’t come to the stadium to be bored. Football must remain a spectacle.” The econo- mic crisis has come along and, according to Nicolas de Tavernost, “football will be hard hit by the crisis, both in terms of sponsoring and in lower TV revenues. TV channels can no longer afford to lose money over football. The rights to show Champions League games are already cheaper in France. (…) Football will have to adapt to the crisis.”

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M6 Replay now available at Orange TV On 15 January, M6 and Orange – France Télécom’s mobile operator – announced the launch of M6 Replay as TV-on-demand at Orange. France - 19 January 2009

M6 Replay was launched in March 2008 to 2009). Orange went on line with its TV-on- bring the TV channel’s foremost programmes demand offering in 2007. So far Orange TV onto the Internet. Right after the initial TV allows customers to watch the programming of broadcast, M6 makes all the relevant program- France Télévision’s five freely receivable digital mes available on the website – and now it will channels (France 2, France 3, France 4, France do so on a dedicated M6 Replay channel at 5 and France Ô) around the clock. Orange TV. For seven days following the broad- cast, customers can watch selected program- The new agreement widens the collaboration mes of the freely receivable digital channel between the M6 media company and the tele- whenever they wish to. M6Replay.fr already communications specialist. For several years averages 1.9 million unique visitors a month, now, the two companies have operated the who together watch 10 million programmes. innovative mobile offering M6 Mobile by Orange, which currently has over 1.5 million In future M6’s offer will be available for all subscribers. Here, too, the idea was to combi- Orange subscribers on three platforms: via ne M6’s content and brand with Orange’s dis- IPTV (via ADSL), on mobile devices (Orange tribution channels to achieve mutual benefit. World Portal) and PCs (Orange.fr – starting

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Vietnam crowns its second Idol On 14 January, crowned its second winner in Ho Chi Minh City with 21 year old Quoc Thien emerging as the winner after six months of competition beating over 15,000 Vietnamese hopefuls. Singapore - 22 January 2009

Quoc Thien, who is a student of the Ho Chi Minh Conservatory of Music, beat close rival Thanh Duy to take home the cash prize and recording contract. Being blessed with a flaw- less voice, he not only won the hearts of the young, but of age groups across the board and had been quoted earlier saying that winning the title of Vietnam Idol would help lift his family out Quoc Thien of poverty and prove that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things. Whilst not from a traditional ‘singing’ family, Thien’s mother, who recognised her son’s talent, encouraged him to participate in local singing competitions and public performances within the community of his small town from a very young age.

“ has discovered another great talent in Asia and we look forward to inviting Quoc Thien to perform as a guest on Idols series across the region”, says Patrick Schult, Managing Director of FremantleMedia Asia.

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Commercial moviemaker’s cinema in a wide range of genres UFA Cinema has announced its second production slate. From over 80 projects in active development, the directors Wolf Bauer, Thomas Peter Friedl, Nico Hofmann and Jürgen Schuster, have settled on eight productions for the new season. Germany - 16 January 2009

The first 18 films for the production years 2009/2010/2011 of UFA Cinema have been set. The cinema producers newest line-up again delivers a wide range of national and internatio- nal bestseller adaptations, comedies for various target groups, family entertainment and dedicated productions by young talents in cinema.

Thomas Peter Friedl, Managing Director of UFA Cinema, says: “At the moment we are vigo- rously preparing for UFA Cinema’s first year of production. Dschungelkind (Jungle Child), directed by Roland Suso Richter, which will start shooting in a few weeks, will kick off things. We are also working intensively on developing and securing new cinematic mate- rial and topics. This is the only way we can make our annual target production volumes in the long term. We are very pleased that the second production season again features out- standing material of national and international standing, and that the participating authors and filmmakers have put their trust in us.”

Overview of the upcoming UFA Cinema Thomas Peter Friedl productions: Tauben auf dem Dach (Pigeons on the Roof) Vaterland (Fatherland) A screwball, life-affirming and naturalistic 1964. What if Germany had won the comedy by director and screenwriter Otto Second World War and the Nazis still ruled Alexander Jahrreiss, telling the tragic-comic Germany? The international bestseller by stories of four inner-city couples who are all Robert Harris portrays an unthinkable story as totally different yet subtly interconnected by the a breath-taking thriller. Harris has reached a fact that their lives are all shaped by one thing: worldwide audience of millions with his novels love. As a film, TV and commercials director, Fatherland, Enigma, Pompeii and Ghost. Jahrreiss has mastered the entire spectrum of his trade. Die Teufelskicker (The Hotshots) Efraim Langstrumpf und die Kannibalen- For millions of boys and girls in Germany, foot- Prinzessin (Ephraim Longstocking and the ball is their life. Die Teufelskicker, based on the Cannibal Princess) bestselling audiobook by Frauke Nahrgang, will The incredible story of Ephraim Longstocking is be in the cinemas in early 2010 – just in time for based on the true story of the adventurer Carl the 2010 World Cup warm-up. A UFA Cinema Petterson, on whom Astrid Lindgren also based production in cooperation with Phoenix Film. Pippi Longstocking’s father: the dreaded 15 week 04 the RTL Group intranet

Captain Ephraim Longstocking, who is confronted with pirates, cannibals and incredi- ble adventures on an hazardous journey to the South Seas. A fun film for the whole family.

Jesus Loves Me A romantic comedy based on the bestseller by David Safier, who takes on the ever-present, universal and insurmountable subject of gender with his “divine” satire.

Niemandsland (No Man’s Land) A compelling, sweeping story of East and , which deals with the major complex issues of Stasi, defection and loyalty among friends within a gripping love story. It is directed by Toke Constantin Hebbeln, who won a stu- dent Oscar in 2006 and caused a national and international commotion with his debut effort NimmerMeer.

Prototyp (Prototype) Cult comic author Ralf König presents a com- pletely new take on the Story of Creation with Adam, Eve, the apple and the serpent. For God said, Let there be lights, camera, action... the result is a very amusing film. Cover of Robert Harris’ bestseller Vaterland

Alles Emma – oder was? (Typically Emma - self…and she leaves absolutely nothing out... A or What?) story about friendship, love and first encoun- Pimples, boys, annoying parents – who doesn’t ters with young adulthood. Pure family enter- know the pitfalls of puberty? This is exactly tainment based on the successful series of where 14 year-old Emma currently finds her- interactive teen books by Gerlis Zillgens.

Who will dance with Mickey? Club RTL and Disneyland are getting ready to hold a major casting session for young dancers under the age of 12. Belgium - 22 January 2009

The casting session will take place in The winners selected by the jury will then take on Saturday 14 February at RTL House, the part in a special parade during Mickey’s building that houses all of RTL Belgium’s radio Magical Party in Disneyland Resort Paris and and television stations. The five top dancers will dance with Mickey, the most famous will go through a one-day training session to mouse in the world. They will also enjoy a master the choreography of “Mickey Star”. three-day, two-night holiday with their families They will be evaluated by a jury composed of at the resort. Nancy Sinatra, Thomas Ancora and a Disney show choreographer. The various stages of the auditions and jury selection will be broadcast on Club RTL during the Carnival and Easter school holidays as well as on the Web site Clubrtl.be. 16 week 04 the RTL Group intranet

Solidly in number one Confident in its growing success over its schedule launched in September 2008, RTL Radio France has taken first place for the 12th consecutive survey of all audience indicators. First in its category, RTL is pulling even further ahead of its competition in all criteria measured. France - 16 January 2009

Follow your heart From the beginning of March, ZDF will air a new telenovela: Alisa is produced by Teamworx and Grundy UFA and will replace Wege zum Glück, which ends in spring with a grand finale. Germany - 19 January 2009

Archival footage on RTL à l’infini Created in 2006 to allow digital viewers to watch RTL Belgium programmes on demand, the catalogue RTL à l’infini has been enriched with archival footage from the group and features images dating from 1955 to today. Belgium - 20 January 2009

Free Download Bruce Springsteen and Sony Music are jointly launching the 100th channel featuring professionally produced video content on Clipfish.de. The new channel offers videos of the rock legend along with a preview of the new album. Germany - 21 January 2009

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One jury, three broadcast platforms In light of the regional and European elections taking place in Belgium on 7 June 2009, the editorial staff of radio station Bel RTL presents its political programme Le Grand Jury in a new format. The show will be broadcast not only on the radio but also on the Web and on television. Belgium - 21 January 2009

Leaving made easy For over two years, the Vox show Goodbye Deutschland! Die Auswanderer has followed the stories of people who left their native Germany for good or at least for a while. Now, comprehensive information about emigration is available in book form as well. Germany - 22 January 2009

Boosting the ratings with Obama coverage On 20 January, the news channel reported all day from Washington on the festivities surrounding the inauguration of the 44th President of the US. Just one day later, N-TV presented its new mobile portal. Germany - 22 January 2009

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People Remi Jastram to enhance the N-TV team Remi Jastram Germany - 20 January 2009

The news N-TV channel is expanding its N-TV will continue its successful collaboration with Merchandising & Licensing department. the Licensing department of RTL Interactive.

The expansion will focus on products and services that offer viewers added value and strengthen the N-TV brand, with an emphasis on music, print, DVD and multimedia.

Remi Jastram, 30, joined the department on 1 January 2009 as Senior Manager Merchandising & Licensing. In this capacity, she is responsible for strategy and expansion in N-TV’s merchandising and licensing department. Jastram has served as project manager in the Merchandising & Licensing department at Super RTL for the past three years.

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