week 44 the RTL Group intranet

Newsletter 31 October 2007 The freedom to create Interview with the makers of Barátok közt about the amazing success story of their series

Spain Antena 3's programmes win Ondas Awards France RTL Radio devotes a day to Burma Germany Machen Sie Schule fundraising campaign continues United Kingdom FremantleMedia acquires rights

People Basma Azibi and Anne Ricard, M6 Hartmut Brügner, IP Deutschland week 44 the RTL Group intranet

The taste of success Hungary’s first daily drama series, Barátok közt enters its 10th season Hungary - 31 October 2007 Behind the scene of Barátok közt

Even after 9 years on RTL Klub, Barátok közt Barátok Közt has topped the ratings in every remains Hungarians' favourite show. To find out target group for many years. But the program- more about the programme's continuing success, me wasn't an instant hit. How did you feel Backstage grabbed the opportunity to talk to the during the period when Barátok Közt's audien- show's producer Tamás Kalamár and head writer ces weren't that large? Greg Stevens. Tamás Kalamár: I was convinced from the outset What's the secret of your success? How do you that we would succeed, but will admit that the ini- get more than 2 million people to sit down in tial ratings were lower than we'd expected. front of their TV screen every evening, waiting I thought Hungarian viewers would show a greater for the familiar theme tune to begin? interest in their first home-grown daily drama series, but it took time for them to get used to the Tamás Kalamár: We produce a quality pro- gramme on a level that meets the needs of both the channel and its audience. We have What's the series about? very good stories with interesting charac- ters that people can relate to. Viewers want Twenty-five years ago, seven children shared the to know what's happening to their favouri- same destiny: orphaned and unloved, they were te characters, so they tune in every day. brought to a cold State-approved school, where This is only possible thanks to a strong they developed a deep, indestructible friendship creative team and its great relations with and hatched future plans together. Since then they the actual production team. Also we enjoy all have built a new life, with its ups and downs, a great freedom to create and trust to and have seen how the world around them has achieve from both our mother company changed. But one thing's for certain: the friendship and our customer, RTL Klub. they built up has remained undiminished. The show's extremely high ratings also saddle you with a very big responsibility. Barátok Közt influences people's views and how they see the world. How do you deal with that?

Tamás Kalamár: Our philosophy from the very beginning was not to get involved in politics and not to refer to any news event, because we didn't want to divide our audience. We're here to entertain. Our sto- rylines deal with human emotions, and eve- ryday issues that people come across in their daily lives, such as homosexuality, drugs, birth, death, marriage…you name it. Audience results of the first season of the series 2 week 44 the RTL Group intranet

genre. Previously they had mainly watched Latin What other genres would be worth producing in American soaps, and our rhythm was much faster. your view? Our ratings started to rise after three months, and seven months after the show's launch we had rea- I'm sure there are still opportunities for success in ched RTL Klub's average market share. After that, the drama series segment. For example, I think a there was no stopping us. On some days our mar- high-quality police series could be a success in ket share even topped 70 per cent in the 18-49 tar- Hungary. get group, and even after 9 years on air 50 per cent of our target audience chooses to watch Barátok Hungary's a small market. Is it worth experi- közt every weekday, making it the most successful menting with new formats? commercial TV programme in Hungary's history. Tamás Kalamár: Hungary may be a small market, Over the show's 9 years you must have gone but it's still a bit cheaper to produce a show here through a fair amount of material. than in most other European countries. So we should seize the opportunity to experiment with Tamás Kalamár: This week we'll be airing our new formats and technologies, within the limits 2065th episode. Multiply that number by 25 minu- imposed by our costs and talent pool... tes - the length of a daily episode - and you get the equivalent to over 400 feature films! Barátok Közt is celebrating its ninth anniversa- ry this week. How long can it go on? How did RTL Klub's main competitor TV2 react? Tamás Kalamár: It's too early to tell. I'm sure a strong brand like Barátok Közt will remain strong Tamás Kalamár: Over the past 9 years they've even when the market becomes more competitive. made several attempts to outperform us, but failed And as long as we continue turning out a product every time. For a couple of days or weeks they that audiences want to watch, there's no reason achieved a relatively high audience share with why the show shouldn't remain successful, just like Big Brother and Deal or No Deal, but our viewers well-produced soaps have done in both the UK soon came flocking back to us. and America.

A few years ago TV2 launched its own daily soap: Jóban Rosszban (For Better or Worse). Tamás Kalamár: I think it's good to have a compe- Producer Tamás Kalamár, a Hungarian titor; it's just a shame it's not us creating our own expat who returned to his homeland competition. Having a rival spurs us on to be even from the United States 10 years ago to Barátok Közt more creative, and beating off the competition produce , the hit show that makes success taste even sweeter. TV2's soap is became Hungary's biggest ever com- in its third year, but we remain comfortably ahead mercial TV success. in the ratings and intend to make sure things stays that way.

Barátok Közt isn't the only genre Grundy UFA has introduced to the Hungarian television mar- ket.

Tamás Kalamár: We were the first to produce a locally made telenovela in 2003. Szeress Most! (Love Me Now!) was an 88-episode hour-long wee- kly programme that achieved highly respectable ratings. In fact, the scores were so good that RTL Klub has just finished repeating it on a daily basis. And even as a re-run it continued to attract good audiences. Edina Balogh, actress, Kalamár Tamás, Zsóka Fodor, actress, Balázs Bruckmann, actor and Erika Szabó, actress

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Creativity and the future

Is it any different writing the storyline of a drama series set in Hungary than in another country?

Greg Stevens: Not at all. The essential emotional core of any drama is the same the world over. People laugh and cry, fall in love, grieve or cheat on each other. Feelings and human relations are the same no matter where you live.

But being an Australian, you must be aware of getting the local flavour right. Greg Stevens

Greg Stevens: Of course. When I wake up in the morning and look out my win- dow, I see the River Danube. Not Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower. Life's different here, but we have a very good Hungarian team of story editors, storyliners, script editors and writers who make sure we get both the drama and the flavour right. By introducing a daily drama series to the Hungarian market, you were pio- neers. How did the team acquire the know-how enabling you all to produce the show?

Greg Stevens : Grundy and Grundy UFA were a big help right from the start. We Australian born Greg Stevens has headed up the still work closely with FremantleMedia team writing Barátok Közt and Szeress Most! and of course Grundy UFA. But even right from the beginning. after nine years, it's no easy job. From a writing point of view, we work very hard Baratok közt is produced by Magyar Grundy to make sure the show remains fresh. UFA, a FremantleMedia company, based in Every six months, we meet up with our Budapest. London colleagues to discuss future developments. We also attend conferen- ces several times a year where we meet other writers, exchange ideas and see what's happening in television drama worldwide.

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Antena 3's programmes win two Ondas Awards Antena 3's acclaimed fictional series El Internado and Europa FM's Ponte a Prueba have won an Onda for Best Spanish Series and Best Radio Programme at the 54th Ondas Awards. Cast of El Internado Spain - 26 October 2007

The jury awarded the Onda for Best Spanish Series to El Internado “for its high production values and its commitment to exploring new avenues in Spanish fiction”.

Although it has only one season under its belt (the second season starts in November), El Internado has not only won over critics and vie- wers, but also taken centre stage as an original series that blends genres in a way never before seen in the Spanish fiction television market. El Internado has been the most-watched prime- time show right from the start, with an average audience of more than four million viewers and a share of 23.8 per cent.

Ponte a Prueba, which calls itself “the program- me that other broadcasters don't dare to air”, has won the Onda Award for Best Radio Programme. Its innovative, daring style promp- ted the jury at the 54th Ondas Awards to laud the Europa FM show for its “inclusive, avant- garde approach, for defending the values of tolerance, respect and non-discrimination, regardless of social status, ethnicity, creed or sexual orientation, for dealing with issues in a light-hearted and humorous way, and for using innovative language in an uninhibited and taboo-free manner – and for doing this conscientiously and responsibly”.

The juries for the 2007 Ondas Awards, compri- sing 36 radio, advertising, television, cinema and music professionals, sorted through 696 nominees from 24 countries around the world.

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RTL Radio devoted a day to Burma The French radio station conducted an investiga- tion into the stifled popular uprising in Burma and devoted its Tuesday's programmes to covering various angles of the issue. Christophe Hondelatte France - 31 October 2007

One of the key slogans of France's leading Thanks to a Frenchwoman who lives next door radio station, RTL Radio, is "vous informer sans to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning concession" (informing you without making opposition leader under house arrest, Rémi concessions), and the station lived up to that Sulmont succeeded in getting right to the heart motto by devoting almost a full day's program- of the no-go zone in Rangoon. From there he mes to informing its listeners rigorously, describes the situation. So listeners were able exhaustively and not holding back about the to hear eyewitness accounts by arrested situation in Burma on 30 October. Taking an in- Buddhist monks and active junta opponents. depth look at recent or topical events, analy- The evening news bulletin heard from a cyber- sing them and putting them in perspective with dissident who helped to create anti-junta blogs, contributions by leading editorial writers and enabling images of the crack-down against the unparalleled investigative journalists is what monks to be broadcast around the world. RTL Radio is all about.

Rémi Sulmont is a leading reporter on RTL Radio's foreign policy staff. Under the greatest secrecy, he conducted an investigation in Burma's capital, Rangoon, and in the Burmese provinces. As a result, one month after the repression of the Buddhist monks' uprising, RTL Radio broadcasted on Tuesday 30 October a series of reports on Burma.

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Bohlen and Medlock: A sure-fire hit Last Friday, Sony BMG released the new single Unbelievable by and German DSDS (Pop Idol) winner Mark Medlock. Germany - 30 October 2007

Music producer and songwriter Dieter Bohlen, German charts for four weeks. All told, the duo and Mark Medlock, the winner of RTL’s talent has already sold 850,000 recordings, earning show Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS) them one gold and two platinum records. last season, have become a dynamic duo. Both men enjoy nationwide cult status and are cur- Now they have a chance to build even further rently going from success to success. Their on their impressive success story. Judging from new single, Unbelievable, was released today, Unbelievable, the early release from and is the first extract from their Dreamcatcher Dreamcatcher, their forthcoming album will album, scheduled for release on 9 November. once again prove the winning qualities of the producer/singer team of Bohlen and Medlock. Last year’s successes bode very well for the The single's video shows them both having fun Bohlen/Medlock duo. Mark Medlock was the on the beach, sporting summer outfits. Bohlen first German DSDS winner to record back-to- accompanies the crazy-but-lovable singer on back singles that made it to number one in the the piano, while Medlock's voice delivers the charts. Naturally, both were produced by his lyrics with his characteristically pithy charm. So mentor, Dieter Bohlen. Medlock's debut album, with a bit of luck, the duo could soon find them- Mr. Lonely, also sold very well, topping the selves back at the top of the charts again.

FremantleMedia agrees to Duel FremantleMedia has acquired the international production rights to Duel, a 'test-of-nerve' game show format from French TV.

United Kingdom - 25 October 2007

In the French version of the prime-time game Gary Carter, President of FremantleMedia show, contestants go head to head in a series Creative Networks and Chief Creative Officer at of high-pressure question-and-answer rounds. FremantleMedia New Platforms, said the for- FremantleMedia has the production rights to mat offered exciting prospects for a prime-time the show in countries including Germany, game show. “Duel has great potential for a Belgium, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Indonesia, wide audience appeal and we already have Brazil and Mexico. Not included in the deal are strong interest from these areas", he added. the UK and the USA.

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Spendenmarathon collects first ever Children for Tomorrow award from Steffi Graf At the weekend, the team that produced RTL Germany's fundraising marathon, RTL-Spendenmarathon, was honoured to receive the first ever Children for Tomorrow award. Wolfram Kons, Steffi Graf Germany - 31October 2007

"It's a great pleasure for me to hand over this More than 9,000 spectators attending a first ever Children for Tomorrow award to sporting benefit at the SAP Arena in Wolfram Kons and RTL-Spendenmarathon“, Mannheim witnessed Steffi Graf han- Steffi Graf said to a visibly moved Kons, the ding over the Children for Tomorrow for more information head of RTL's charity work, as she bestowed award to Wolfram Kons. her foundation's award. "I'd like to thank RTL- www. Spendenmarathon for giving us such wonderful As the godmother of RTL's fundrai- support over the last few years. Without that sing marathon, Steffi Graf had pushed spendenmarathon help, we at Children for Tomorrow would never hard for the construction of three nurse- .de have been able either to help the children in ry schools with treatment facilities in Kosovo or build nursery schools and a therapy Eritrea and for the conversion of a youth centre for kids in Eritrea“, the tennis legend and house into a therapy centre in Kosovo. mother of two children continued.

Winning the award was a great achievement for RTL's fundraising marathon and a wonderful moment for Wolfram Kons: "It's a great honour for me to receive this first award endowed by Steffi Graf from the hands of a person who has won such an impressive array of prizes, awards and trophies herself. The award was earned by the whole team, and everyone at RTL can be rightly proud of it".

Steffi Graf, Wolfram Kons, Andre Agassi

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Cooking up a storm Five has commissioned a major new 35-part cookery entertainment series entitled Cooking the Books. United Kingdom - 26 October 2007

Presented by Jeremy Edwards (, Finally, on Cooking the Books the guest chef and Celebrity Masterchef), the theme will be joined by another TV cook for a light- of each 30-minute weekday programme will be hearted challenge. Choosing delicious recipes centred around best-selling cookery books from their own back catalogues, both chefs will written by some of the UK’s top chefs. Guest be given just five minutes to fulfil Jeremy’s spe- chefs on each show will demonstrate their cial brief. mouth-watering signature dishes in front of an intimate studio audience of foodies who will play a major part in every show.

Each episode will also feature a mystery cele- brity. These well-known personalities will be fil- med cooking incognito – attempting challen- ging recipes in their own kitchens. In the studio, once their identities have been revealed, their efforts will be judged by our studio audience and guest chef, who will then give them an impromptu master class.

Jeremy Edwards, Cooking the Books

Antena 3 Group publishes its Q3 results During the first nine months of 2007, Spain's Antena 3 Group boosted its net revenue to EUR 734.4 million, up from EUR 722.7 million for the same period in 2006. Spain - 31 October 2007

However, over those three quarters, the sons for this result. In fact, that audience share Spanish media group's EBITDA and net profits has dropped from 18.4 per cent at the end of both went down. Its EBITDA dropped from Q3 2006 to 16.5 per cent one year later on. EUR 244.3 million in 2006 to EUR 222.9 million In the TV sector, the group's net revenue slip- in 2007, and its net profits plunged from EUR ped down 0.7 per cent to EUR 630.4 million. In 216.2 million in 2006 to EUR 133.5 million in the radio sector, its revenue rose by 6.4 per 2007. cent to EUR 76.3 million. Antena 3 Group named the rising programme costs and its dwindling audience share as rea-

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The Machen Sie Schule fundraising campaign continues The second phase of Vox's fundraising campaign, this time for Mali in West Africa, will run from 24 November to 31 December 2007. Germany - 29 October 2007

Vox launched its Machen Sie Schule school- over 40 degrees Celsius”, Adlhoch said. building appeal last year together with the aid "Two separate classes are taught in the organisation World Vision. The campaign pro- same classroom by different teachers, ved a great success, raising more than EUR and the kids are packed in like sardi- 300,000 from Vox viewers. So far that money nes. And of course Mali has far too has been used to build 20 schools in few schools, so not ever child is Swaziland, and another five are still under given the chance to learn." construction. Further information about Mali www.vox.de This year, Vox's campaign is continuing, with and the appeal will be availa- an appeal for the West African Republic of Mali, ble from 24 November on the one of the world's poorest countries. 81 per websites of Vox and www. cent of its population aged over 15 cannot read Worldvision. or write; only one in two children are given a worldvision place at school; and just 50 per cent or so of .de people have access to fresh drinking water. The average life expectancy is 48 years.

This year's campaign will be launched on the travel magazine Vox Tours at 17.30 on 24 November. Presenter Judith Adlhoch even tra- velled to Mali to see for herself the conditions in which children attend school there.

“The few schools they have are simple clay buildings, where the inside temperature rises to

A classroom in Mali

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El Internado - print version of Antena 3 series now available Prime-time series about a mysterious boarding school will now be published as a book collection. Spain - 29 October 2007

Vox's holiday magazine to become more of a travel guide Vox's holiday magazine, Wolkenlos will be changing its concept on 17 November, aiming to provide more service and even more up-to-date information. Germany - 30 October 2007

Dance with Fun Radio Fun Radio, the French Soul & Dance radio station, wants to have its own electro dance team, which is why it's launching its Fun Electrodance Contest. So Fun Radio is getting in on the action by invi- ting any of its listeners with talent in this area to take part in its Fun Electrodance Contest. France - 26 October 2007

2007 German Comedy Awards show on RTL Once a year, the makers of German TV comedy programmes meet up at their top gala event to honour outstanding performances over the pre- vious 12 months. Up to 6.28 million viewers aged three and over tuned in to watch the award ceremony. Germany - 29 October 2007

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People Basma Azibi and Anne Ricard, M6 France - 25 October 2007

Basma Azibi has been appointed Head of After a 15-year spell at communication consul- Organisation in M6 Group's Organisation and tancies as Head of Customer Relations, Anne Human Resources Directorate. Anne Ricard will Ricard's main tasks re internal communications take on internal communications. will be to deal with anything that enriches edi- torial content, coordinate the use of various Basma Aziba will be in charge of the team media, design new tools and organise internal Functional Programme Broadcasting and of events. optimising the Group's structures and proce- dures.

People Hartmut Brügner, IP Deutschland Hartmut Brügner Germany - 31 October 2007

Hartmut Brügner will be in charge of the new department and the newly created department division, central marketing, at IP Deutschland of programme communications. from 1 November 2007. Hartmut Brügner, 42, is from Henkel KGaA. He Taking up his new position, Hartmut Brügner graduated in business administration and wor- will report directly to Florian Ruckert, Head of ked in international media management where Marketing. he was responsible for detergent, regional controlling Middle-East North-Africa and TV In his future area of responsibility the centrally purchasing in Germany. controlled marketing activities are all combi- ned. Hereunto rank the strategic marketing department, marketing communications

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