Keeping the Lead RTL Group’S TV Channels Look Back on a Successful 2007

week 2 the RTL Group intranet

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Keeping the lead RTL Group’s TV channels look back on a successful 2007

FremantleMedia The global popularity of variety, game and talent shows France RTL France, the logical radio partner for major events Germany New logo and claim for Super RTL Belgium 20 years of television

People Sébastien Motel, RTL Radio France Karine Blouët, Groupe M6 week 2 the RTL Group intranet

RTL Group’s TV channels look back on a successful 2007 Virtually all of RTL Group's television channels achieved strong audience figures in 2007. Here is a country-by-country overview of the ratings and the most successful formats broadcast by RTL Group channels in 2007. Luxembourg - 7 January 2008

Germany 31 March, it attracted over 16 million viewers and achieved a market share of 64.4 per cent in In 2007, the channels of Mediengruppe RTL the target group (14-49). Wladimir Klitschko Deutschland managed to further extend their versus Ray Austin a few weeks earlier was wat- lead over competitors in the ProSiebenSat1 ched by 12.88 million viewers. Media AG. While RTL Television, Vox, RTL II, Super RTL and N-TV achieved a market share The fourth season of Deutschland sucht den of 33.6 per cent among young viewers – an Superstar (German Idol) scored an average increase of 1.8 percentage points compared 31.2 per cent market share in the 14-49 target with 2006 (31.8 per cent) – the ProSiebenSat1 group. Season five starts in late January 2008. family dropped 0.4 percentage points to 29.0 With more than 5 million viewers and a market per cent. share of 28.5 per cent, House was the most- watched series on RTL Television, followed by In the key advertising target group of 14- to 49- CSI: Miami which averaged 25.9 per cent of the year-old viewers, RTL Television remained the market. Dynamic, service-oriented reality for- undisputed leader with a market share of 16.0 mats were a key television trend in 2007 and per cent (15.6 per cent in 2006) – a position it RTL Television formats attracted the most vie- has now held for 15 consecutive years. In terms wers, especially the TV romance series Bauer of total audience, RTL Television scored 12.4 sucht Frau (market share 14-49: 24.2 per cent). per cent (vs. 12.8 per cent in 2006), putting it third behind the public-service stations ARD RTL’s main news programme, RTL Aktuell, was (13.4 per cent in 2007) and ZDF (12.9 per cent the most watched news programme among in 2007), and maintaining its position as the young viewers over the whole year. With an market leader among private channels. average market share of 19.3 per cent it was ahead of its competitors Heute (17.9 per cent) RTL Television's most watched programme in and Tagesschau (17.5 per cent), which are 2007 was a boxing event: the revenge fight bet- broadcast on the public television channels ween Henry Maske and Virgil Hill. Broadcast on ZDF and ARD respectively.

Germany: Audience share (14-49) in % Wladimir Klitschko 2 week 2 the RTL Group intranet

Vox closed 2007 with the best result in its history. The channel reached 7.9 per cent of the 14- to 49-year-old demographic, a remarkable 12 per cent increase versus the previous year (7.1 per cent). The channel actually celebrated new monthly records three times in a row: between August and October 2007, its share of viewing among young audiences rose from 8.1 to 8.5 to 8.7 per cent.

High-quality US series like CSI:NY and Criminal Intent scored peak ratings in a number of primetime slots. Other formats with double-digit market shares Valerie Damidot, D&CO moderator include the reality entertainment shows Das perfekte Dinner, which won a 2007 sewives under 50. So, M6 has thus been able German TV Award, and the newly-launched to build up a loyal audience amongst its usual cooking formats Unter Volldampf and Die viewers and also attract new viewers with its Kocharena. major primetime shows that drew in an even larger audience than in 2006. These include the RTL II increased its audience share in the 14-49 information magazines, which are a real cor- age group to 6.3 per cent (2006: 6.0 per cent). nerstone of the channel’s programming. Its new mystery series Heroes premiered with a market share of 17.3 per cent among the 14-49 All of its information magazines actually regis- target group and had an average market share tered an increase in audience figures: Capital of 11.2 per cent. Docu-soap continued to be a (averaged 4.3 million viewers), Zone Interdite (4 dominant genre in RTL II’s programming. With million), Secrets d'Actualités (2.2 million), 66 over 150 episodes to date, Frauentausch is one Minutes (2.2 million), Enquête Exclusive (2 mil- of RTL II’s strongest brands, garnering an up to lion) and T'empêches tout le monde de dormir 14.2 % market share. (1.2 million).

Super RTL achieved 23.2 per cent among its Other major primetime shows on M6 have also target age group, 3-13. The news channel N-TV recorded increases in viewing figures since increased its market share in its keenly compe- 2006, including the magazine D&CO (4.4 million titive segment by 0.1 percentage point to 0.7 viewers), the US series NCIS (6.3 million) and per cent in their target age group of viewers 14 Bones (4.4 million), the reality documentary and older. L'amour est dans le Pré (4 million viewers), the game show Peking Express (4 million) and the France saga Suspectes (3.9 million).

With the introduction and expansion of DTT, the In 2008, M6 will continue its winning strategy audiovisual sector in France underwent major with sport such as the European football cham- changes in 2007. However, despite a gradual pionship 2008, entertainment (Pop Idol), French decline in its audience share of housewives drama (Bleus), international series (Desperate under 50, from 19.3 per cent in 2006 to 18.0 per Housewives, Prison Break, Californication) and cent in 2007, M6 is the only major terrestrial adventure (Peking Express, La Route des channel to have made headway in evening Incas). slots by attracting 100,000 more viewers. In 2007, over 4 million viewers tuned in to M6 on 142 evenings (as compared with 132 in 2006), the highest figure ever achieved by the channel. And for the ninth consecutive year, M6 was the second most-watched channel among hou-

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House and Shark promotional campaigns

United Kingdom The Netherlands

As a result of the continuing fragmentation of RTL Nederland managed to maintain its mar- the TV market in the UK, all five major terrestrial ket-leading position in 2007. With an overall channels lost audience shares in 2007. Five's market share of 29.7 per cent among shoppers adult share of viewing was 5.3 per cent, down 20-49, the family of stations was clearly ahead from 5.9 in 2006. The combined adult audience of its competition. The SBS Group ended the share for the Five Family went up to 6.2 per year with an average market share of 26.6 per cent following the launch of the digital channels cent, while the public-service channels (NPO) Five Life and Five US in October 2006. came in even further behind at 25.3 per cent.

Five’s most successful programmes 2007 have RTL 4 was once again the most popular chan- included the Australian soap Home and Away, nel in 2007, both among shoppers aged 20-49 and US drama series such as House, NCIS, (14.8 per cent) and in the 20-49 demographic Shark, Law & Order and the CSI franchise. The as a whole (14.3 per cent). The European documentary travel series, Paul Merton in championships qualifier against Albania was China, was a big success for Five, achieving the most-watched programme in the 20-49 one of the channel's highest ever ratings for a group on RTL 4, followed by RTL Voetbal: factual programme – 1.9 million viewers and a Eredivisie. The All You Need Is Love Christmas 8 per cent share. The Extraordinary People fac- Special was the favourite programme among tual strand continued to be a critical and ratings shoppers 20-49, followed by X Factor and hit for Five. Now in its 7th season, the program- Crime Scene Investigation. Drawing in an ave- me attracts an average of 1.7 million viewers rage of 1 million viewers each day, Goede and a 7 per cent share. Tijden Slechte Tijden remained one of RTL 4's top 10 programmes. Gooische Vrouwen also In the digital arena Five Life and Five US have proved popular with viewers. established themselves as two of the top 20 peak-time channels. Both channels perform particularly strongly on Freeview, the fastest-growing digital platform in the UK, with Five Life's Home and Away averaging around 600,000 viewers and regularly winning its slot.

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RTL 5 achieved a market share of 10.1 per cent Croatia in the 20-34 age group. The most-watched RTL 5 programmes in this target group included In Croatia, RTL Televizija successfully defended Holland's Next Top Model, Mijn Tent Is Top, its leading position in 2007. In the 18-49 demo- Bones and CSI: Miami. graphic, its audience share decreased slightly to 28.3 per cent (2006: 28.6 per cent) but still In 2007, RTL 7 averaged 6.7 per cent among relegated HRT1 (25.9 per cent) and Nova TV men aged 20-49, an increase of 1.3 percentage (18.7 per cent) to second and third places res- points on the 5.4 per cent recorded in 2006. pectively. This is the channel's highest figure since 2004. The 30 most-watched programmes on RTL 7 In the most important timeslot – primetime –, included all sporting events, in particular the RTL Televizija managed to increase its lead Formula 1 championship races and the Dutch over the competition in terms of audience team's qualifying matches for the football share, scoring 31.2 per cent versus 20.6 per European championships. RTL 7 has thus cent (HRT1), 20.2 per cent (HRT2) and 20.2 per clearly established itself as the top sports cent (Nova TV). channel in the Netherlands. “The results are very gratifying,” commented RTL 8, which was launched in August 2007, RTL Televizija CEO Christoph Mainusch. “We managed to achieve an average market share are grateful to our viewers who preferred our of 3.3 per cent after just a few months in its key programmes. 2007 was a fantastic year for us: target group of women aged 20-49. The most- RTL Televizija not only aired the best entertain- watched programmes were the films Ciske de ment programming but also the best informa- Rat and Nell, along with repeats of Idols and tion programmes. Our news and our new Gooische Vrouwen. ‘access prime time’ met with amazing success this year.” he said, adding: “Our strategy of Belgium offering the best programmes in all genres will ensure that we maintain and even enhance our RTL-TVI in Belgium maintained its position as number one position in 2008. Our main focus is market leader. During primetime, the channel on local fiction, a result of our long-term improved its market share among shoppers conceptual planning.” aged 18-54 by 2.6 percentage points to 26.8 per cent. Of the Top 100 programmes in 2007, Beginning in January, RTL Televizija will intro- 86 were broadcast on RTL-TVI. François duce new programming content, including the Pirette's production entitled Belgique, Asile new drama serial Ne daj se, Nina (Don't Give Politique was the most-watched television pro- Up, Nina), a high-quality production that pre- gramme in the French-speaking community in miered on Thursday, 3 January 2008. Viewers 2007, attracting 956,341 viewers. As a result of can look forward to the political thriller Urota the current political situation, the second and (Conspiracy), which will start airing soon, as third most watched programmes were also well as Ljubisa Samardzi's drama series Jesen news-related: 875,661 viewers tuned in to stize, dunjo moja (Fall Arrives, My Melon) and RTL's special edition of the TV news on 18 the well-loved entertainment formats Hrvatski November focussing on the drive for unity in top model (Croatian top model) and To i djeca Belgium while a similar number watched the znaju (Even Children Know This), a popular 19.00 news bulletin on 12 November. US series game show. shown on RTL-TVI, including House, Prison Break and CSI, were also very popular and are among the Top 10 most- watched shows of 2007.

In the same target group, Club RTL scored a 6.0 per cent market share and Plug TV reached 2.5 per cent of viewers. The RTL family in Belgium thus achieved an overall primetime audience share of 35.3 per cent (2006: 34.8 per cent). Ne daj se, Nina 5 week 2 the RTL Group intranet

Hungary

RTL Klub achieved an average daily market share of 28.4 per cent in the 18-49 demographic. During primetime, RTL Klub achieved an impressive 34.8 per cent audience share, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.

One of its key programmes was Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, which has been running for more than seven years now. “The programme was a tremendous success over the years, but last spring the show started to deliver weaker figures,” Pokerface said Péter Kolosi, Programming Director of Spain RTL Klub. RTL Klub therefore decided to start airing the FremantleMedia production Antena 3 managed to retain its number two Pokerface on a daily basis. “It worked,” said position in Spain despite a decrease in audien- Kolosi. “Pokerface was a hit: it produced the ce figures. Overall, an average 17.4 per cent of same ratings as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire viewers watched the channel. Among young in the good old days.” viewers (target age group under 35) Antena 3 was the most watched channel, achieving an RTL Klub also began producing its own talent average market share of 22.7 per cent. Six of show, Csillag születik (A Star Is Born), which ran the Top 10 programmes in Spain were broad- on a weekly basis and was a great success as cast on Antena 3. well. New formats weren't the only ratings booster on RTL Klub: “The daily drama Barátok The most successful programme in 2007 was közt (Between Friends) is the most popular the Uefa Cup final between the two Spanish show on Hungarian TV,” Kolosi said. teams Espanyol and Sevilla, which attracted Furthermore, RTL Klub was the first channel to more than ten million viewers and achieved a assign a strategic primetime role to US series, total audience share of 50.4 per cent. The such as Emergency Room, CSI: Miami or most-watched film event was Shrek et feliz Bones, plus Cobra 11 as the only non- navidad, a special production for Christmas American format. “Our strategy of launching starring the animated character Shrek, which new and unique shows seems to be working,” was seen by 37.3 per cent of viewers. La ruleta said Kolosi, explaining the secret to RTL Klub’s de la suerta was the most watched game show success. “Although we are the market leader, in 2007, with a market share of 26.5 per cent. we have to be very careful with every programme we add.”

During the year ahead, RTL Klub plans to increase its rating even further. “Local pro- ductions keep the programme unique and help to protect and develop the brand,” Kolosi explained. “To strengthen the brand, we are producing more niche programmes for the off-primetime slots. Our history magazine The 21st Century and the new stand-up comedy show Showder Klub, which launch this spring, will help us to keep quality viewers as well.”

UEFA cup final winners: Espanyol

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The global popularity of variety, game and talent shows According to research released by FremantleMedia, broadcasters have seen a marked improvement in both the volume and success rate of game show formats this season. However, variety and talent shows continue to dominate prime time schedules and were the most successful genre of the season in terms of their audience performance. United Kingdom - 7 January 2008

The most successful global entertainment for- ting. The US market had a growing demand for mat of 2007 is the American game show Are entertainment formats, something which we You Smarter Than A 5th Grader which entered expect to see even more of in 2008 and a trend 22 new territories in eight months, making it which the writers strike issues has the potential one of the fastest global roll outs ever. The to exaggerate. Overall last year was a great one most successful talent show format was Got for talent shows. We are looking forward to Talent, which was sold to more territories than their continued success in 2008 – shows like X any other variety or talent format – it is also the Factor and Got Talent, offer broadcasters UK’s highest rated entertainment show of the something of enormous value – great TV year. In the UK, four of the top five highest rated brands and a bankable audience. 2007 was a entertainment series of the year are talent great year for the UK, a year when it again pro- shows: X Factor, Britain's Got Talent, Dancing ved itself as a great source for travelling On Ice, and Strictly Come Dancing (with X brands. The UK’s audience figures for enter- Factor and Britain's Got Talent being produced tainment shows speak for themselves. by FremantleMedia). Fourteen of the top 15 entertainment shows in the UK are global success stories.” Reflecting the renewed demand for game show formats, countries such as the USA and Netherlands grew their share as the originator of global formats, and now account for 21 per cent each of the share of global formats in total. The UK remains the main originator of global formats accounting for 33 per cent of the total in 2007. The roll out of global formats is getting faster, with broadcasters increasingly seeking tried and tested formats with a proven track record of success. Almost half of all new variety and talent titles launched X Factor judges across the five key TV markets have gone above expectations and excee- ded the average share for each of their broadcasters.

FremantleMedia CEO, Tony Cohen, said: “The UK is still as strong as ever and the main originator of global formats, but it is interesting to see that the speed of global roll out is still accelera-

Britain’s Got Talent – Ant, Dec, Amanda, Simon, Piers and Stephen. 7 week 2 the RTL Group intranet

20 years of television At the end of September 2007, RTL-TVI celebrated that most wonderful of birthdays, it's twentieth. Today the management and marketing department of the Belgian channels are publishing a retrospective study of the last two decades on the development of the behaviour of viewers, changes in TV schedules and in how television is financed. Belgium - 7 January 2008

A few months ago, Backstage featured the numbers into a calculator to work out average anniversary on the cover of the weekly newslet- audiences. Suffice it to say, then, that the ter that was published in week 37 and informed authors of the study had to dig deep in the readers about the festivities planned to mark archives to enable the completion of such a this landmark anniversary for RTL-TVI: Viewers comprehensive study today. of RTL Group's Belgian channels were treated to a freshly launched digital event channel, Didier Lefèvre reiterated that the television is dubbed RTL-TVI 20 ans; a book was published; first and foremost an appliance owned by vir- a souvenir DVD was issued; and free concerts tually all Belgian households today. Whereas were organised in several Belgian cities. TV sets used to just take pride of place in people's living rooms, today people own several so At the same time, in the words of RTL-TVI CEO televisions now occupying other rooms of the Freddy Tacheny, the 20-year milestone is also house as well. What's more, households are “a time to stop and think about the defining still investing in TV sets, especially in innovati- characteristics of the Belgian TV market: its ve flat-screen technology which gives them viewers, its programmes and how it's financed. greater satisfaction by offering an even better But it's also a time for looking ahead and envi- TV experience. Lefèvre also noted that there is saging the television of the future”. A few days still a very strong tendency for viewers to watch prior to Christmas, Tacheny and TV Marketing TV programmes ‘live’, i.e. as they are broad- Manager Didier Lefèvre presented the study to cast, despite the fact that there are now seve- just under a dozen journalists invited to the ral possibilities for watching programmes at company's headquarters at RTL House in other times, a trend that started with video Brussels. recorders, then DVD players and now the advent of the digital video recorder and video- Tacheny stressed that the production of such a on-demand (VOD). Indeed, the consumption of retrospective study was no easy matter in a such ‘non-live’ or ‘catch-up’ TV still remains business sector whose players normally have more the exception than the rule with viewers, their gaze fixed on the horizon whilst at the because the higher number of channels availa- same time trying to predict what tomorrow ble to them means they are spoilt for choice. might bring, “It's not that easy to look back and take stock,” Tacheny said. The study necessi- The study also reveals that 7 out of every 10 tated extensive research, because whereas French-speaking Belgians watch television on nowadays everything is on computer, this was average every day, and that this figure has far from the case 20 years ago. Freddy Tacheny remained stable over the years, whereas the also recalled his early days in RTL-TVI's marke- amount of time people spend watching 'the ting department where he used to have to bash box' has risen sharply, from 4 hours and 13

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minutes daily in 1986 to 5 hours and 20 minu- of information. RTL-TVI feeds Belgian viewers' tes today. There’s a ‘smoothing out effect’ desire for proximity by retaining the services of regarding the consumption of TV, which Lefèvre the channel's female announcers (whereas its explained by saying that the time spent wat- competing operators have stopped using them) ching TV in the evening has remained steady, and also by hanging on to star presenters like but viewers are now tuning in more during the Alain Simons. Moreover, RTL-TVI is constantly daytime, mainly thanks to the fact mentioned fine-tuning its programming, serving up its above that nowadays they own more than just audience a canny mix of high-quality informa- one television set and the increase of program- tion, entertainment, major game shows, hit US me offers. A similar phenomenon applies when series and blockbuster films. comparing weekend watching habits with TV consumption during the week, with today's vie- The final topic covered by Freddy Tacheny in wers spending more time in front of their TV his presentation was the changing way in which sets during the week. By the same token, the television is being financed. The shift here has differences between summer and winter vie- taken place in several phases, with the trend wing habits are less pronounced today. today moving away from operators’ sole relian- ce on advertising revenue to boosting the inco- Tacheny went on to highlight the fierce compe- me they generate by engaging in diversification tition between distributors. Surely French- activities and exploiting any possibilities arising speaking Belgium holds the world record in this in the digital domain. After all, the technological respect, with 92 per cent of households subs- upheavals changing the face of the TV domain cribing to the cable operator Coditel, which has are also opening up new sources of finance. been active on the market since 1961. However, cable's highly advantageous histori- Tacheny then closed the gathering by spelling cal status is about to be blown to smithereens out his vision for the television of the future, with the advent of digital, which he conceded is which he refers to as “television 3.0”, meaning “making slow, but sure progress”. Tacheny then television that people can watch at anyhow, at went on to say that French-speaking Belgium any time and anywhere. only has 4.5 million inhabitants and ten general-interest channels. In other words, the Belgian market is ultra competitive. Consequently, the audience fragmentation that is whittling away the market share of general-interest channels, as French operators are currently finding out to their cost, has been a reality in Belgium right from the very outset. For this rea- son, Tacheny feels he can look to the future with a “certain degree of calm”.

Today, RTL-TVI explains its success in terms of its excellent knowledge of what the Belgian public expects from it, expectations which the channel accurately identified and has successfully met. First and foremost, Belgian viewers want ‘proximity’, and even though they can tune in to French channels, they prefer watching RTL-TVI'’ Belgian news bulle- tins. In fact, RTL-TVI has successfully established itself as the leading provider

Freddy Tacheny, CEO of RTL-TVI

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RTL France, the logical radio partner for major events Asterix At The Olympic Games, the most eagerly awaited film in early 2008, is going to be flying the colours of RTL Radio. Asterix (Clovis Cornillac) and Obelix (Gérard Depardieu) France - 8 January 2008

In the run-up to the release of the film by (Gérard Depardieu). On Tuesday, 22 January, Thomas Langmann and Frédéric Forestier on between 14.30 and 16.00, Laurent Boyer will 30 January, RTL Radio will be presenting a joint present a special live programme from Lyon to poster campaign on Asterix At The Olympic mark the opening of the new Pathé de Vaise Games to all the inhabitants of modern-day cinema complex, namely an edition of La Tête Gaul. dans les Etoiles featuring, among others, the characters Mrs Geriatrix (Adriana Karembeu), Between 15 and 21 January, a large-scale Julius Caesar (Alain Delon), Asterix (Clovis national poster campaign will present three Cornillac) and Brutus (Benoit Poelvoorde). visuals featuring the heroes from the film with the following catch lines: RTL la radio préférée des Gaulois (RTL: Gaul's favourite radio station) and RTL la radio que les Romains nous envient (RTL: the radio station the Romans envy us for).

The radio station will be broadcasting various special programmes and exclusive interviews. Here are just a couple of examples: On Monday, 21 January, between 09.00 and 09.30, Christophe Hondelatte will be hosting a special Asterix edition of Laissez-Vous Tenter featuring both Asterix (Clovis Cornillac) and Obelix

Asterix posters 10 week 2 the RTL Group intranet

With a revamp into the New Year Super RTL has been sporting both a new look and a new claim. Furthermore, the colour scheme for the presentation of the channel's daytime schedule and the Toggolino and Toggo brands has been completely reworked. New Super RTL logo Germany - 8 January 2008

Super RTL had been using the claim Für die Super RTL CEO Claude Schmit is convinced ganze Familie (For All The Family) to underpin that the channel's new design is a step in the its leading position as a children's and family right direction: “What we wanted to do was channel. But the current schedule starting at highlight the differences between individual 20.15 is certainly of interest not just to parents, segments of the programme schedule and but also to many adults. This broader appeal of brands without making Super RTL look bitty or Super RTL is duly reflected in its new claim seem like the sum of several parts.” Schön, dich zu sehen (Great To See You) and in the channel's revamped primetime design. At That objective has been successfully achieved the same time, though, the transitions to prime- by the channel's new branding, developed by time are smooth, since many of Super RTL's the Cologne-based agency Feedmee. The use early evening series are also enjoyed by adults. of colour matches the associated Super RTL Likewise, many of the films and programmes content and makes a very harmonious impres- included in the evening schedule are suitable sion, despite successive switches of emphasis for kids and youngsters. This ability to bridge throughout the day. Furthermore, the personal, the transition between daytime and primetime positive tone of the new claims reflects Super successfully is one of Super RTL's strengths, RTL's self-confidence. The claims were devi- and is visually underscored by the new design sed by Castenow.communication, which is also features. The basic Toggo colour – a warm, responsible for implementing the branding of friendly orange – will be incorporated into the all the channel's off-air measures. on-air design of Super RTL's evening schedule, with a shade of red added to indicate high per- ceived value.

During daytime the channel has cleverly signposted the various parts of its schedule more clearly for the benefit of its various target groups. To demarcate Toggo from Toggolino, the latter has been made more predominantly green. Another new feature is Toggo's claim Weil’s Spaß macht (Because It's Fun), which is short and to the point and also makes a promi- se that won't just be fulfilled by the channel's TV schedule, but also on all other Super RTL platforms, such as the Internet.

Comparison of the screen design of Toggolino, Toggo and Super RTL primetime (from top to bottom) 11 week 2 the RTL Group intranet

A pioneering role for Antena 3 on the Internet For the first time in its history, the Spanish TV channel Antena 3 has offered viewers the chance to download the first episode of the new season of a series from the Internet before its TV premiere. The series in question has proved to be a great success in both media. Los hombres de Paco Spain - 10 January 2008

The start of a new season of one of Spain's all the launch of the fifth season of favourite TV series Los hombres de Paco the show can be deemed a resoun- (Paco’s Men) will certainly have caused a stir in ding success. the world of Spanish television. But even more exciting than that news was the fact that Previously, Antena 3 had already check out Antena 3 had made the full version of the first shown sneak previews of its episode of the series’ new season available on series on the group's digital chan- www.antena3.com the Internet well in advance. By so doing, the nel, but this was the first time in channel showed once again that it's a true pio- Spain that an episode of a series neer when it comes to exploring the possibili- produced for a free TV channel had ties offered by the Internet. been made available in advance on the Internet. This action by Antena 3 was a As early as the Monday morning, 36 hours logical continuation of its successful efforts last before the TV premiere, the first episode of the year to use the Internet as an additional chan- fifth season of Los hombres de Paco was ready nel of distribution for its own content. Free, to be downloaded from www.antena3.com. So uncut episodes of other series had already any viewers who felt they couldn't wait for the been made available on the Internet before, but official launch of the new season of the series only after they had premiered on TV. could find out the latest deve- lopments in the storyline before regular TV viewers.

The series’ TV launch proved to be a great success, despite – or perhaps because of – this sneak preview on the Internet. Los hombres de Paco was watched by 4.2 million viewers, giving it a market share of 24.3 per cent in the target age group under 55. That first episode has already been downloaded over 1.3 million times from the Internet. All in

Los hombres de Paco 12 week 2 the RTL Group intranet

More offers at Antena3.com Spanish RTL Group station takes quick steps on the path of video-on-demand (VOD) on the Internet. Spain - 7 January 2008

A very popular website among Belgian Internet users After just six months in existence, RTLinfo.be has become the leader in its category. Belgium - 8 January 2008

The Beijing Olympics are already starting on RTL Radio France As from Thursday, 10 January, and then every subsequent Thursday until the Olympic Games get under way, Isabelle Langé will be reporting on French athletes’ preparations for their challenge in Beijing. France - 9 January 2008

A brand new community for fans of German Pop Idol Casting show Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS) enters its fifth season in January 2008. Together with Bloomstreet.net, RTL.de launched a joint platform providing full interactivity for fans of the hit programme. Germany - 9 January 2008

Big Brother gets off to a successful start Like its predecessors, the eighth series of the reality show is notching up decent ratings for the German channel RTL II. Germany - 10 January 2008

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People Karine Blouët appointed Groupe M6 Secretary General Karine Blouët France - 9 January 2008

Karine Blouët took up her new post on A graduate of the Ecole polytechnique and 1 January 2008, having previously been head Paris Graduate School of Economics, Statistics of institutional relations, a job she had been and Finance (ENSAE) and member of the admi- doing since joining the group on 2 January nistration council of the French National 2007. Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), after nine years at the French Ministry Karine Blouët will take over from Michel Rey, of Finance, in the management of the who had been Secretary General since 1988 Economic Forecasting Unit and French and is now retiring, having made a major contri- Treasury, Karine Blouët served on the staff of bution to the strategy and development of the the prime minister (2002-2004) as chief techni- Groupe M6 ever since its inception. cal advisor on the pension reform and the financing of social protection. In 2004 she was Karine Blouët is responsible for relations with appointed chief advisor to the French minister all public institutions and authorities as well as for culture and communication on financing being in charge of coordinating the handling of film and the cinema and audiovisual industries. any issues arising in this connection for Groupe M6.

People Sébastien Motel appointed Network Chief of RTL Group’s radio activities in France Sébastien Motel France - 8 January 2008

Sébastien Motel reports to Charles-Emmanuel Sébastien Motel, 35, graduated from the busi- Bon in his capacity as the person in charge of ness school ESC Rouen. He joined RTL the development of analogue and digital net- Group's French radio arm in April 2000, since works in the sector, and to Jérôme Fouqueray when he has successively served as coordina- in his capacity as manager of the active net- tor of the networks RTL 2 and Fun Radio and works Fun Radio and RTL 2. run the music stations' networks. 14 http://backstage.rtlgroup.fr http://backstage.rtlgroup.com http://backstage.rtlgroup.de

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

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