How W9 Combines Television with the Internet to Develop Viewer Loyalty

week 8 / 21 February 2013

YOLO OR NOT YOLO? How W9 combines television with the Internet to develop viewer loyalty

France Germany Australia Groupe M6 presents Punkt 12 raises awareness Neighbours is looking 2012 results for the homeless for a new theme tune week 8 / 21 February 2013

YOLO OR NOT YOLO? How W9 combines television with the Internet to develop viewer loyalty

Germany United Kingdom Belgium Interview with FremantleMedia Kids Strategic alliance Bernd Reichart, & Family Entertainment between IP Belgium the new Managing and BBC Children’s to and Groupe Rossel Director of Vox co-produce children’ shows Cover The characters from Yolo

Publisher RTL Group 45, Bd Pierre Frieden L-1543 Luxembourg

Editor, Design, Production RTL Group Corporate Communications & Marketing

k before y hin ou T p r in t

backstage.rtlgroup.com backstage.rtlgroup.fr backstage.rtlgroup.de QUICK VIEW

Groupe M6 announces full-year results for 2012 Groupe M6 p. 7–8

Punkt 12 spotlights the homelesss RTL Television p. 9

Could you be the new voice of the Neigbours theme tune? FremantleMedia Australia p. 10 W9’s antidote to the crisis W9 p. 4–6 The biggest gain in listeners Bel RTL / Radio Contact p. 11

Big Picture p.12

SHORT

NEWS PEOPLE p. 13 p.14–15 W9 recently started airing a new early evening W9’S programme called Yolo, on ne vit qu’une fois. Every day viewers eagerly tune in to ANTIDOTE TO follow the latest adventures of the most famous flatmates in France. Backstage wanted THE CRISIS to find out more about this reality TV series, which is

about to create a buzz. France – 21 February 2013 W9

The actors from Yolo, in Joe’s house

4 Scripted reality programme Yolo is one of Also, the role played by each character is very close many examples of how successful formats travel to their actual personality in real life. Before each throughout RTL Group’s entertainment network. In scene they are told by the production team the fact, the format is an adaptation of Berlin – Tag & scene is about and what the intention behind it is. Nacht broadcast on RTL II in Germany since autumn Then, the actors are left to improvise, playing out the 2011. Relatively slow out of the blocks, Berlin – Tag situation and reacting in the same way they would & Nacht enjoyed a stellar rise after a few weeks do normally if faced with the situation in real life. and is now the second most-watched show in access prime time. Its average audience among Based on a concept that has never been tried out in 14 to 49-year-olds soared from 4.6 per cent France before, Yolo is once again keeping W9 right (in September 2011) to 9.1 per cent by up there setting trends. Another innovative aspect December 2011 and 13.2 per cent a year later – of the series is its integration in social networks, a rise of 70 per cent. with the Web playing an integral role, more so than ever before in other programmes. Accordingly, it has Is W9 aiming for the same? “Naturally, we are hoping Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Youtube pages. for the same exceptional success. In Germany, the series took a while to establish itself, so we will pay Facebook meanwhile, serves as an extension of the very close attention to Yolo’s performance right from channel, enabling the programme to become more the start. Yet we know we will have to be patient deeply anchored in current affairs as well as in the and wait for viewers to ‘get into’ the programme’s reality of viewers’ daily lives. Before the broadcast characters”, says W9 Managing Director, Frédéric of the programme’s fi rst episode, Yolo’s Facebook de Vincelles. page already had more than 23,000 fans – a fi rst for a brand new series. And after the fi rst airing that Yolo plunges viewers into the daily lives of a group number quickly rose to almost 32,000, and hasn’t of friends sharing a fl at in Montreuil, east of Paris. stop rising. In an attempt to blank out the crisis and the gloom and doom associated with it, they decide to try Frédéric de Vincelles confi rms that the Internet and get the most out of life. Their motto is Yolo, serves as a kind of ‘staging post’ for the programme, which stands for “You Only Live Once”, the English because the main protagonists post images online equivalent of the programme’s French title and a that can be viewed before the episode in question kind of carpe diem of the Internet age. is aired. “We are currently thinking of other bonus material that could be posted on W9’s website and The fi rst episode of the show yielded good ratings, are also considering games or competitions in which especially among viewers aged under 25, scoring the participants could end up featuring on the show an audience share of 8.5 per cent, which made W9 or visiting a shoot,” he told La Lettre de l’Audiovisuel. the leader among DTT channels and the third most popular channel in France among viewers from that Yolo is also the fi rst DTT series to offer W9’s age group. audience a way of enriching their viewing experience. For example, a ‘second screen’ option “The feeling we get with Yolo is that we are gives viewers an opportunity for “full immersion in offering something new. It’s an innovative the programme”, Frédéric de Vincelles explains. programme and an example of a new style of “For instance, they can link up with the characters script writing,” Frédéric de Vincelles explained to and hear back from them in real time via their French daily La Lettre de l’Audiovisuel at the end of app”. What is more, they can rate the characters’ January. Yolo is fi rst and foremost fi ction, because actions on a scale of 1 to 10 (Yolo or Not Yolo) on a the stories are made up, devised by screenwriters, so-called ‘Yolometer’. Once hooked up to the Yolo yet there is also an element of reality because it is community, they are then invited to predict twists made like a documentary, shot off the shoulder in and turns in the plot. real places, not in some studio backlot.

Next >

5 The ﬂ at in Montreuil (Paris)

FACTS & FIGURES ABOUT YOLO

The reality show is produced by Studio 89

A script editor leads a team of six or seven writers in producing and adapting the scripts

The casting process took 5 months and took place all over France. When seeking characters the production team resorted to various methods, including Facebook, casting websites, classified ads, spontaneous casting in night clubs and at fitness studios, approaching people on the street, etc.

Berlin - Tag & Nacht, the programme that inspired Yolo, has more than 2.5 million likes on Facebook

IIn January 2013, Germany’s RTL II launched a spin-off series of Berlin - Tag & Nacht entitled Köln 50667 (Cologne 50667, the number being the postcode of the area around the city’s railway station)

6 GROUPE M6 ANNOUNCES FULL-YEAR RESULTS FOR 2012 Groupe M6

In 2012, Groupe M6 demonstrated its resilience in a deteriorating economic climate, reporting consolidated revenue of €1,386.6 million (down 2.4 per cent). France – 20 February 2013

Groupe M6 outperformed the TV advertising market and recorded a decrease of only 3.0 per cent in advertising revenues, to €811.9 million. Other advertising revenues (digital channels and internet) increased by 2.2 per cent, while non-advertising revenues receded slightly in 2012 (down 1.6 per cent) to €574.8 million.

Consolidated proﬁ t from recurring operations (EBITA) came to €218.5 million (down 10.8 per cent), reﬂ ecting the decline in advertising revenues along with M6 channel’s investment in the Euro 2012 football championship broadcasts. The consolidated operating margin from recurring operations was 15.8 per cent (2011: 17.2 per cent).

Net ﬁ nancial income was €24.4 million (compared to €3.0 million in 2011), including a net capital gain of €20.2 million (€18.4 million after tax) on the Groupe M6’s disposal of its equity investment in US studio Summit Entertainment in January 2012. Groupe M6 share of net proﬁ t for the period totalled €140.2 million (down 6.3 per cent).

The channel M6 In 2012, M6 channel achieved total audience shares of 11.2 per cent (2011: 10.8 per cent), reafﬁ rming its position as the number three national channel in terms of total audiences, and the number two national channel in prime time. These gains in market share partly absorbed the effects of a contracting advertising market. In 2012, its revenues declined by 3.1 per cent, including a 4.3 per cent decrease in advertising revenue. Overall programming costs excluding Euro 2012 decreased by 1.3 per cent to €329.6 million. The M6 network (M6 channel, advertising agency and production subsidiaries) thus generated an operating margin from recurring operations (EBITA/revenue) of 21.5 per cent.

Next >

7 Digital channels In 2012, revenue from Groupe M6’s digital channels grew by 0.8 per cent, primarily driven by W9, which reported an average total audience share of 3.2 per cent during the period and conﬁ rmed its ranking as the leading DTT channel among the commercial target group of housewives under 50, with an audience share of 4.2 per cent. W9 was also the DTT channel which broadcast the largest number of high-proﬁ le programmes: 267 programmes that attracted at least 1.0 million viewers. Press Release: Groupe M6 Full Year Results 2012 More generally, digital channels contributed €30.9 million to consolidated EBITA, representing an operating margin from recurring operations of 16.6 per cent.

Diversifi cation and audiovisual rights Advertising and non-advertising revenues from diversifi cation and audiovisual rights decreased by 2.7 per cent in 2012, whilst the divisional contribution to EBITA increased signifi cantly (up 12.8 per cent). The operating margin from recurring operations increased by 1.2 percentage point to 8.9 per cent.

At 31 December 2012, Group Equity totalled €687.6 million, compared to €693.7 million at 31 December 2011.

Dividends At the Combined General Meeting called for 13 May 2013, the Management Board will propose the payment of a dividend of €1.85 per share, comprising an ordinary dividend of €0.85 per share for the 2012 ﬁ nancial year, and an extraordinary dividend of €1.00. The ex-dividend date will be 20 May and dividends will be paid on 23 May 2013.

8 PUNKT 12 SPOTLIGHTS THE HOMELESS RTL Television

Every day for a whole week, a homeless person from a different city will present the weather forecast on RTL Television’s midday news journal Punkt 12. Germany – 19 February 2013

RTL Television and Info Network are running the unusual weather special in support of the ‘Days of Hope’ campaign. Says Punkt 12 Editorial Director Volker Kutz: “We deliberately chose to take the cameras out to the homeless on the street. They present the forecast where they live: in subway stations, on the street, under bridges.”

With the campaign, Punkt 12, the partners of the Diakonie Outreach Ministry, and Saatchi & Saatchi hope to get viewers to pay more attention to the homeless, dismantle barriers, and provide help through donations, which can be made directly on RTL.de. The website also contains background information on selected Diakonie facilities and their partner organisations in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Rostock, Stuttgart and Berlin, all of which welcome support.

Mario “Alﬁ ” Albig from Rostock ist one of the ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN homeless weather presenters on Punkt 12 The ‘Days of Hope’ campaign was created by the creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi London for the Diakonie Outreach Ministry in Frankfurt. Michael Samak, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Germany and Switzerland, says: “We have worked with the Frankfurt Diakonie for many years, are continuously developing new communication strategies, and are pleased to have won other Diakonie partners for this campaign.”

The campaign is being implemented all over Europe. “The ‘Days of Hope’ have already taken place in Romania, Russia, Serbia and Switzerland. Poland, Denmark, Finland, Belgium and other countries will follow in the coming weeks,” says Oliver Kapusta, Executive Creative Director at Saatchi Berlin and initiator of the campaign.

9 COULD YOU BE THE NEW VOICE OF THE NEIGHBOURS THEME TUNE? FremantleMedia Australia

FremantleMedia Australia’s long-running daily drama Neighbours has launched a competition to ﬁ nd a new solo singer who will record the theme song to the show. Australia – 21 February 2013

Neighbours fans in Australia and the UK have been invited to record themselves singing the newly updated theme song to the hugely popular daily soap and upload their submissions to the audio platform sound cloud. Once ﬁ ve ﬁ nalists from each country have been shortlisted, viewers will vote for the country winners.

Neighboursremixed websites for the United Kingdom... Battling it out Down Under The UK representative will then ﬂ y to Melbourne, Australia, to battle it out against the winning Australian representative, and the overall winner will become the vocalist on a remixed version of the Neighbours theme tune, which, from April on, will air on the opening credits of the programme the world over.

THE SONG

The Neighbours theme song was written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and has had six incarnations since the popular series launched in 1985.

…and for Australia How to enter Details of how to enter the competition, along with the backing track, lyrics and tips, can be found at www.channel5.com/neighboursremixed (UK) or www.neighboursremixed.com.au (Australia).

UK AUSTRALIA

10 THE BIGGEST GAIN IN LISTENERS Bel RTL / Radio Contact

In the period of September to December 2012, Bel RTL and Radio Contact, reinforced their leading positions by registering the highest number of new listeners. Belgium – 15 February 2013

The day after the World Radio Day, held under the auspices of Unesco, the Centre d’Information sur les Médias (CIM) published the latest radio audience results in Belgium’s French Community. The ranking changed little since the previous wave, and both of RTL Belgium’s radio stations continue to reach more than one million listeners per week respectively.

With 1,050,138 listeners per week and a 15.9 per cent audience share among listeners age 12 and above (18.3 per cent of the target group of listeners age 35 and above), Bel RTL remains the strongest radio station in French-speaking Belgium. Its success extends throughout the day, especially in the morning news time slot, weekdays between 6:00 and 9:00, when the general-interest station achieves a 20.8 per cent market share that places it far ahead of its competitors. The second Barbara Mertens and Thomas van Hamme, station in this time slot registers 14.6 per cent. Bel RTL saw its co-Presenters of the morning show, Bel RTL Matin audience increase by 48,400 listeners per day (a 7 per cent gain) as compared tothe previous wave, representing a total of 682,500 loyal daily listeners.

With 1,052,656 listeners per week and a 15.4 per cent audience share of listeners age 12 and above (23 per cent of the target group of listeners under 35), Radio Contact also conﬁ rms its position as the BEL RTL: AN INCREASE OF number two station on the French-speaking radio scene after Bel RTL 48,400 DAILY LISTENERS and the number one music station. In these two target markets, the dolphin radio station has increased its number of listeners since the last wave. Through music programming that touches every generation, Radio Contact attracts both young and adult audiences. It is the radio station most listened to by 18 to 44 year-olds and has gained new listeners as well. In fact, there are 40,600 more tuning in each day.

Eric Adelbrecht, Managing Director of RTL Belgium’s radio stations, talks about these results: “I can only be delighted to see that the RADIO CONTACT CHARMS number of daily listeners has signiﬁ cantly increased for both of our 40,600 NEW DAILY LISTENERS leading radio stations, Bel RTL and Radio Contact. This performance is the result of the attention our teams have paid to meeting listeners’ expectations as closely as possible.”

11 Fabulous start for Grimm On 18 February the new mystery-crime series Grimm got off to an excellent start on Vox with a 16.4 per cent average audience share among viewers aged 14 to 49, giving the channel the day’s top ratings in the demographic. Thus Grimm is Vox’s most successful series launch since March 2010, when the US series Lie to Me launched with an audience share of 17.6 per cent. SHORT NEWS 1/1

A hit on TV and Facebook M6

Scènes de Ménages, the hit French series airing in access prime time on M6, has just passed the 2 million fans mark on Facebook. France – 15 February 2013

Exploring career options with Unter Uns Grundy UFA / RTL Interactive

Grundy UFA and RTL Interactive once again link what’s happening on TV in the daily series Unter uns with an exclusive storyline, now available on RTL.de and the second screen RTL Inside. Germany – 18 February 2013

Creativity in radio advertising rewarded IP Belgium

Ultraspot – the contest for the best radio ads in French-speaking Belgium launched by IP Belgium – once again offers listeners the chance to vote for their favourite ad win many prizes. Belgium – 18 February 2013

Croatia loves its farmers RTL Televizija

RTL Televizija broadcast the ﬁ rst two episodes of the fourth season of Ljubav je na selu (The Farmer Wants A Wife) – with excellent results: an average 38.7 per cent of the viewers aged 18 to 49 tuned in to the second episode. Croatia – 19 February 2013

‘Bang tidy’ set of new licensees for Celebrity Juice FremantleMedia

FremantleMedia revealed a raft of new licensing partners across the UK and Ireland for ITV2’s most watched comedy panel show brand, Celebrity Juice including licensees for books and branded easter eggs. United Kingdom – 21 February 2013

13 PEOPLE MARTIN HOBERG IP Deutschland Germany – 15 February 2013

Martin Hoberg (31), started as Head of Business Development at the advertising sales house IP Deutschland on 15 February 2013.

He succeeded Marion Peter (37), who returned to university, and takes over responsibility for further developing strategic future matters of online and mobile marketing as well as Smart TV. His tasks also include new client acquisition.

Hoberg reports directly to Paul Mudter, Director Interactive, who looks forward to their collaboration: “In Martin Hoberg, we have been able to recruit an expert colleague from within the company. He has long years of experience in the online realm, and has also worked with us on many strategy and digital projects in the past. We look forward to working with him and are convinced that he will continue his excellent work to date in this department as well as bringing in new aspects.”

Hoberg joined Bertelsmann in 2008, and most recently served as Director Corporate Development. Prior to this he gained his ﬁ rst professional experience at Reintjes GmbH. He completed his Master of Arts in International Business and Management at the University of Osnabrück between 2006 and 2008. Martin Horberg, the new Head of Business Development at IP Deutschland

14 PEOPLE LAURIE MILLIAT-DESORGHER M6 France – 21 February 2013

Laurie Milliat-Desorgher has joined M6, where she will ﬁ ll in for regular presenter Xavier de Moulins on the 19h45 news show. She will make her on-air debut the week of 11 to 14 March 2013.

Born in 1981, Laurie Milliat-Desorgher began her career in 2008 when she joined the Canal Plus group. There, she ﬁ lled in for Florence Dauchez, d’Émilie Besse and Élé Asu, presenting the televised news programmes La Matinale and L’Édition spéciale as well as the evening news.

From January to July 2009, she presented the morning show on i>Télé with Thomas Thouroude, and in December of the same year she ﬁ lled in for Florence Dauchez once again, presenting the evening news on Canal Plus.

A specialist on judicial issues, she has been a member of the Association de la presse judiciaire since September 2010. Laurie Milliat-Desorgher is a graduate of Science Po (the Paris Institute of Political Studies).

Laurie Millat-Desorgher

15 More about Backstage

BACKSTAGE DAILY NEWS FROM ‘AT RTL GROUP, IS AVAILABLE ACROSS THE WE CARE’ IN THREE GROUP – DIRECTLY LANGUAGES IN YOUR INBOX

You can read In addition to the RTL Group is committed Backstage in your weekly newsletter we to effectively combine preferred language – offer to registered users business success with in English, German a daily newsletter socially responsible actions or French. available in three towards local communities languages. and to protect the environment. Visit the Corporate Responsibility news section on Backstage (CR news) and ﬁ nd out how RTL Group aims to improve the societies in which we operate.

backstage.rtlgroup.com backstage.rtlgroup.fr backstage.rtlgroup.de

For more information, don’t hesitate to contact the editorial team: [email protected]