12 July 2012

week 28

Added dimension How M6 has created a new way of consuming TV

Germany Belgium Wolf Bauer Télévie funds 107 on restructuring UFA research projects

The RTL Nederland launches app Enex welcomes for Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden Arabia week 28

Cover: Montage showing TV and second screens

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Participate, learn more or exchange opinions At a press conference held on 5 July 2012, Groupe M6 unveiled a new version of its Replay catch-up TV platform and related services that fi nally makes social television a reality in . M6 content synchronised across all devices and screens France - 12 July 2012

In the , the biggest TV and launching a new version of Replay’s mobile apps entertainment market worldwide, the trend and services for the channels M6 and W9. This towards watching TV on more than one screen revamped catch-up TV service not only offers is continuing to gain in popularity. Multitasking social television and continuous viewing is now also gradually making inroads across functions that are unifi ed across all media, but Europe (Backstage reported: weekly newsletter affords access to a second screen service, 25/2012). According to the fi ndings of the dubbed Devant ma TV (In Front Of My TV). ‘Focus 2nd Screen’ study conducted by the Institut CSA and NPA Conseil, published in This makes Groupe M6 the fi rst audio-visual June 2012, three-quarters of French Internet group in France to offer its viewers a users at least occasionally consult a second multi-screen usage service that is synchro- screen while watching television. Even nised in real time with the programme they are more tellingly, 58 per cent use this second device watching, opening up some brand new directly in conjunction with the programme being possibilities for them. Indeed, drawing on aired. Institut CSA and NPA Conseil concluded advances in sound recognition technology, that “using an interactive second screen while the Devant ma TV function offers additional watching TV thus appears to be a widely content at key moments during programmes. established habit among a large proportion of For example, viewers can use their second the French population”. screen to look up the Top Chef recipe currently being prepared on TV, fi nd out where to buy the Having already pioneered catch-up TV in 2008 decorative elements featured on D&Co, take by launching Replay, Groupe M6 was quick to part in games, and much more. spot this new trend and decided to surf it by

Valéry Gerfaud Christian Bombrun 3 week 28

“TV is already a highly social tool that enables tablets – as well as for all Groupe M6 channels, us to share our experiences of events. We users can sync all their media and start watching are taking this a step further by including a a programme on TV, interrupt it, pick it up again simplifi ed, fully integrated social practice on later on their smartphone, from the exact mo- a second screen to enrich our programmes,” ment at which they stopped watching, and fi nish explained Groupe M6 Deputy CEO Thomas it up on their tablet, underpinning the continuous Valentin. availability of television.

Accordingly, integrating all the features that As well as guaranteeing viewers a TV experience social television can offer, the new version of with an added dimension, these new services Replay also allows users to comment on and also enable Groupe M6 to present advertising in interact with a programme whenever they want. different ways. “On our second screen, we can For example, they can make recommendations do and say what is not the norm for authorised on social networks, let others know what they are programmes, be it with regard to advertising, up to, watch the videos most frequently viewed sponsorship or promotion,” explained Groupe by their friends or even instantaneously state M6 CEO Nicolas de Tavernost. Indeed, second their opinion on the performance of a contestant screens leave the door wide open for product on La France a un Incroyable Talent (Got placement, can enable viewers to fi nd out more Talent) and vote. So the new service helps to about the ad currently being shown on TV, or enrich the community viewing experience while even guide them to the advertiser’s site where also incorporating the very latest developments, they can make purchases directly. As M6 Web like up-to-date versions of Facebook’s Open CEO Valéry Gerfaud pointed out: “This opens up Graph. real potential for brands” because “this type of ad proves highly memorable”. “The possibilities are boundless. We are thinking here about nothing less than creating a new way “However, there is no question of ruining of watching television,” said M6 Web Deputy programmes or cluttering the viewer’s fi eld of Director Christian Bombrun. Thanks to the vision. Making television programmes is, and identical interface and ergonomics of all types will always remain, our business,” Thomas of screen – TVs, computers, smartphones or Valentin concluded.

Screenshot of LeNouveauM6Replay.fr

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Facts & Figures on M6’s Replay service

The new version of M6 Replay is already available on the website www.lenouveaum6replay.fr, or via the M6 and W9 I-Phone and I-Pad apps

After the summer break, enriched television will be available on Android (smartphones and tablets) and on the Xbox and IPTV services. The group expects to have integrated audio description by the end of the year

On average, 50 million videos are streamed from M6 Replay each month and watched by viewers for an average of 76 minutes a day – the highest score of any catch-up TV service in France

Used by 180,400 customers every day, M6 Replay is the catch-up TV service with the largest accumulated audience

M6 Replay and W9 Replay are distributed to 8 million TV screens and more than 3 million mobile devices and tablets via I-Phone and I-Pad applications

So far M6’s mobile app has been downloaded more than 3.4 million times, and W9’s 2.2 million times

French people are increasingly well equipped with respect to internet-connected TV sets: 64 per cent now own them, 15 per cent more than back in October 2011

Sources: Groupe M6, CSA/NPA Conseil, Médiamétrie

...and on I-Phone

Screenshot of second screen W9 Replay on I-Pad...

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“Further enhance our ability to innovate” In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, UFA CEO Wolf Bauer talked about the production business in a digital world and a restructuring of the group of companies. Wolf Bauer - 9 July 2012

In the interview, Wolf Bauer pointed out that Asked about the repercussions for the staff, the transformation to digital is sweeping all Bauer said: “When you shake up a company media businesses along with it. “We accept the way we are doing right now, everything is this and that is why we are restructuring UFA. possible. We will defi nitely streamline or merge We want to make UFA fi t for the future and structures. But we will also bring new talent on further enhance our ability to innovate,” said board elsewhere in our company.” All of the Bauer. Specifi cally, the new UFA will be business units currently scattered around Berlin structured into three production units: are to be brought together in Potsdam – except ‘Entertainment’, ‘Daily Drama’ and a ‘Fiction Unit’ Phoenix Film. Grundy Light Entertainment bundling the labels for cinematic productions, will also remain in Cologne. Bauer: “At our series, TV movies and event-scale productions. headquarters, we will design an architecture that refl ects our new communications structure and “We will continue to use our very well supports our optimised innovation management. established individual brands, but at the same So we want to design the company for our digital time do a better job of merging the parallel future in terms of both its content and structure.” structures that have developed at individual UFA labels,” explained Bauer. Phoenix Film is exempt from this measure for now because it is a UFA participation.

Bauer: “The renewal processes will take place on two levels. First on the level of the three production-specifi c units I already mentioned, and second on the level of newly set-up creative teams that will each work specifi c future topics under the instruction of the managing directors.“ The brand names like Grundy UFA and Teamworx will remain. “Channels don’t buy their programmes from a company, but from talented producers,” says the UFA boss.

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Who is Tim? RTL Nederland has published the Wie Is Tim? App, which has immediately surged to the top of the Dutch app charts. The Netherlands - 10 July 2012

The Wie Is Tim? (Who Is Tim?) app is about a new character in the series Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden. In the app, users will fi nd handwritten notes from the enigmatic Tim. With the help of videos, games and hidden content, users can learn more and more about Tim every week as new content is unlocked.

Since its release in early July, the app has been downloaded 120,000 times for I-OS and Android devices. It currently has 65,000 active users, making the app the number one free app in the App Store in its fi rst week. The app has its own

Screenshot of Wie ist Tim? app storyline, which will lead the audience through the summer break. Wie Is Tim? is the fi rst trans-media project to be used for a mass audience.

Arno Otto, Managing Director of Digital Media at RTL Nederland, says: “We are always looking for new ways to get audiences involved in our programmes long-term. We offer an extensive mix of digital content to extend Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden onto all platforms – so that Goede Tidjen, Slechte Tijden fans can continue to get their daily dose of the soap during the summer.”

An average 1.5 million viewers tuned into the popular series every day during the last season which ended on 6 July. The 4,500th episode on 1 June attracted more than 2 million viewers. But the show is also popular on the Internet: For more information, see the Facebook page for the series GTST.nl gets over one million hits a week and has 147,000 fans, with 63,000 people following the offi cial Twitter account.

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107 cancer research projects The Fonds de la Recherche Scientifi que has just confi rmed the research projects to be supported in 2012 thanks to the generosity of volunteers, donors and sponsors of the Télévie. Belgium / Luxembourg - 6 July 2012 Arsène Burny

On 21 April 2012, the 24th edition of Télévie drew to a close, raising the record sum of €8,402,650. With a view to fi nding new courses of treatment, the entire amount of the money raised by Télévie in Belgium and Luxembourg is turned over to scientifi c research. The scientifi c commission directed by Professor Arsène Burny met in May to analyse the 155 dossiers that were submitted. From among them, 107 were retained by the Board of Directors of the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifi que (seven of which being dedicated to Luxembourg research) for their relevance in terms of research into cancer and leukaemia in children and adults. The requests concerned fi nancing of doctoral grants, post-doctorate research and laboratory technicians.

The main research in 2012 through Télévie will focus on the molecular and genetic characterisations of cancerous stem cells for the development of methods to eliminate them; the study of mechanisms through which the immune system is neutralised by cancerous cells; the identifi cation of signs predictive of persistence and relapse of leukaemia and cancers of the lung, pancreas and breast; and the study of tumours and the phenomenon of metastasis using imaging techniques and molecular genetics.

The results of these studies will be the weapons of choice in the hands of cancer specialists to provide care and save lives. Since the creation of Télévie in 1989, more than €125 million has been raised for research and almost 1,700 projects have been fi nanced, along with hundreds of international publications.

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Enex is growing Enex (the European News Exchange) has added a new member with effect from 1 July 2012: Sky News Arabia. Luxembourg - 6 July 2012

Sky News Arabia, a joint venture between BSkyB and the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation, fi rst went on the air in May 2012. The broadcaster has ten offi ces across the entire Arab Region, including in Cairo, Damascus, Islamabad, Ramallah, Khartoum, Gaza and Riyadh. It has reporting and transmission facilities in all countries of North Africa and the Middle East, and employs over 400 journalists. Sky News Arabia has fed news material into the Enex network since 1 July, in return for access to footage from the other partner channels.

“On behalf of all Enex members, I extend a warm welcome to our colleagues from Sky News Arabia,” says Henning Tewes, Managing Director of Enex. “The Arab world is one of the hot spots for News in the world and we are delighted that we now have a partner there who can cover events quickly and reliably, for the benefi t of the entire Enex network.“

Nart Bouran, Head of Sky News Arabia, says: “The past 18 months have been a real challenge – not just because of the Arab Spring and political developments in the region, but also for us here at Sky News Arabia. We have built the channel from scratch. Our aim is to Henning Tewes change the way news is gathered and reported across the Arab world. I am very pleased that we can now join an organisation as vibrant and competent as Enex.“

Enex is one of the leading providers of news footage in Europe. Its business model foots on the sharing of news material and broadcasting services between the member channels. Enex members include RTL Television, RTL II, Vox and N-TV in Germany, M6 in France, RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, RTL Klub in , Sky News in the UK, CBS in the US, TBS in Japan, VTM in Belgium, SIC in , TV4 in Sweden and Channel 2 in Israel. At this point, Enex offers more European video material for news than agencies like Associated Press and Reuters.

9 “The contestants are tiring off, but not

the audience”fi nale of the eighth On 11 July 2012, M6 broadcast the season of ‘Pékin Express’. The Belgian brothers, Ludovic and Samuel won the coveted “Pékin Express’s best adventurers”fi nale drew title 3.7 andmillion also viewers the €100,000 prize. The to their television screen, which represents a total audience share of 17 per cent, making M6 the secondthat most-watched evening. channel week 28

RTL Radio is set for Summer Time From 9 July to 26 August 2012, RTL Radio in France accompanies its listeners on holiday or at work with new summertime programmes. France - 9 July 2012

Football scores great ratings RTL 4’s De Zomer Van 4: VI Oranje scored excellent viewer ratings during the European football championship, and the show set a new record when more than 1.2 million viewers tuned in after the Germany versus Italy match. The Netherlands - 9 July 2012

A winning weekend for Groupe M6 On 6 and 8 July 2012, Groupe M6 channels registered excellent ratings with their weekend magazines, which achieved their best performances in years. France - 10 July 2012

Super RTL: Programme highlights for the summer holidays From 9 July to 26 August, Super RTL offers children programmes for the summer holidays – from 08:00 on weekdays. Germany - 10 July 2012

Second screen functionality for smartphones With already more than 20,000 downloads on the I-Pad, RTL Belgium’s second screen applications are now available on the I-Phone and Android. Belgium - 11 July 2012

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IP Deutschland launches research app: I love My Media The I love My Media app released by IP Deutschland and Quest Back runs on Android and I-OS devices and serves as a mobile platform for opinion research related to television, the internet and mobile phones. Germany - 11 July 2012

Syfy renews Total Blackout The US cable channel Syfy has renewed its unscripted competition series Total Blackout for 16 new episodes. In 2012, Total Blackout was the channel’s most watched new series. North America - 11 July 2012

Madonna in concert: only on Radio Contact On 12 July, Madonna will set Brussels on fi re as part of a world tour dedicated to her latest album, MDNA. As an exclusive sponsor of the concert in French-speaking Belgium, Radio Contact honours the star with special programming. Belgium - 12 July 2012

Netzathleten Media verticals are ideal advertising space An IP Deutschland survey indicates that campaigns run on the vertical networks of Netzathleten Media (Germany’s leading vertical network operator with more than 15 million Unique Users) pay off. The major fi ndings of the survey carried out among visitors to the vertical network’s partner sites, in a nutshell: the campaigns improve advertisers’ brand recognition and image values, boost advertising recall, and user acceptance of the ads is high. Germany - 12 July 2012

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People Xavier de Moulins France - 6 July 2012

Starting at the end of summer, Xavier de Moulins will be the new face of Zone Interdite, M6’s magazine created in March 1993. He will be replacing Mélissa Theuriau. At the same time, he will continue to present the evening news Le 19h45, from Monday to Thursday.

After a degree in literature and a diploma in communications, Xavier de Moulins began his career as a journalist in 1994 with a variety of jobs in publishing, newspapers and television. He wrote for newspapers and magazines such as L’Expansion, Le Monde, Les Inrockuptibles and Vogue and also worked on the programmes Xavier de Moulins Les Maternelles and C dans l’air on France 5.

In 1999, he joined the team of the talk show Nulle Part Ailleurs, a combination of news, humour and music that aired on Canal Plus. Following that, in 2002 he joined Paf Productions. At the same time, he worked on the magazine programme Plus Clair on Canal Plus and in 2005 joined the team on the Nous ne sommes pas des anges programme hosted by Maïtena Biraben.

From 2006 to June 2010, he hosted Paris Dernière on Paris Première. Since 30 August 2010, Xavier de Moulins has been the presenter of Le 19h45 from Monday to Thursday on M6. Xavier de Moulins is also the author of two novels: Un coup à prendre and Ce parfait ciel bleu, published by les éditions Diable Vauvert.

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People Kareen Guiock France - 12 July 2012

Starting at the end of summer, Kareen Guiock will be the presenter on Le 12h45 on M6, taking over from Aïda Touihri.

Since the summer of 2011, Kareen has been Xavier de Moulins’ replacement on Le 19h45, a job she will continue to do from Monday to Thursday during his holidays, from 16 July until the end of summer.

After fi rst-year studies at the Ecole normale supérieure and a Master’s degree in Philosophy, Kareen Guiock started as a journalist at RFI in 1998. In 2001 she joined the editorial department of the magazine Turbo, which airs on Sundays on M6. At the same time she worked at Canal France International (CFI) and Arte. Kareen Guiock In 2006, she presented news bulletins on the morning programme on M6 before working on Le 19h45, where she runs the ‘Expliquez-nous’ column dedicated to questions from Internet users.

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People Alba Ventura and Jérôme Chapuis France - 10 July 2012

Jérôme Chapuis, Jean-Michel Aphatie and Alba Ventura (from left to right)

RTL Radio in France announced the In a press release, Christopher Baldelli, appointments of Alba Ventura and Jérôme Chairman of the Management Board of Chapuis as Political Bureau Chief and co-host RTL Group’s French radio stations, made of Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-LCI respectively. the following comment: “Throughout this At the end of summer they will take over from campaign year leading up to the 2012 Jean-Michel Aphatie, who will devote himself to Presidential election, Alba Ventura and other duties at the station. Jérôme Chapuis have demonstrated their talent for uncovering the hidden agendas in politics Alba Ventura, Deputy Political Bureau Chief and have shown themselves to be brilliant in since 2008 and author of the column conducting political interviews. News Director Les Carnets d’Alba, which is dedicated to what Jacques Esnous and I are proud to be able to goes on behind the scenes in politics, will entrust each of them with a new mission.” become Political Bureau Chief, a position that Mr. Aphatie has held for two years. For Jean-Michel Aphatie, these changes are most of all synonymous with a “different After seven years at the helm of Grand investment”: “I will play a greater role in Jury, every Sunday at 18:30, Jean-Michel the editorial department and other places, Aphatie naturally hands over the programme especially in editorial conferences and in to Jérôme Chapuis (34), Deputy Editor-in-Chief collective thinking about events at the station,” of the Political Bureau since 2011. “Two years he explains. A mainstay of the morning session, ago I said to Jacques Esnous that I would do Jean-Michel Aphatie will continue to conduct Grand Jury until the Presidential election,” the political interview every morning at 7:50 and explained Jean-Michel Aphatie in an interview will again oversee the editorial department as with Le Figaro on 7 July. “For a long time Deputy Director, working alongside Catherine I’ve wanted to fi nally spend weekends with my Mangin. family.”

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People Christoph Ahmadi Germany - 6 July 2012

Christoph Ahmadi, 38, Director of Sales & Marketing at Super RTL, is leaving the company. He has been appointed to the Executive Board of Cinemaxx AG in Hamburg, where he will be responsible for the Marketing, Sales and IT departments.

His exact departure date and successor have yet to be determined. Ahmadi has spent eight years at Super RTL, three of them in his present role. CEO Claude Schmit says: “Christoph Ahmadi is one of the people Christoph Ahmadi responsible for our outstanding position as the top name in children’s entertainment. He has helped shaped the fortunes of Super RTL and contributed to its commercial success. We are very sorry he is leaving us and wish him only the best in his new role. I will personally miss him very much as a skilled colleague and very nice person.”

Christoph Ahmadi: “Super RTL has been the most interesting and varied experience of my professional life to date. I would like to sincerely thank my great colleagues and partners.”

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The next regular edition The weekly Backstage Newsletter will be on will be published on summer holidays. Friday 17 August In the meantime, you’ll fi nd relevant news from RTL Group and its profi t centres on http://backstage.rtlgroup.com Your Backstage team

17 http://backstage.rtlgroup.fr http://backstage.rtlgroup.com http://backstage.rtlgroup.de

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