4 March 2010
week 09
Leaders in Belgium Eric Adelbrecht sketches out the development of Bel RTL and Radio Contact
Germany United Kingdom Super RTL wants to increase Five makes content available road safety on TV.com
France Luxembourg M6 looks for a Nouvelle Star RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg launches football magazine week 09 the RTL Group intranet
4 March 2010
week 09
Eric Adelbrecht, Head of Bel RTL and Radio Contact
Leaders in Belgium 2 Eric Adelbrecht sketches out the development of Bel RTL and Radio Contact
Germany United Kingdom Super RTL wants to increase Five makes content available road safety on TV.com
France Luxembourg M6 looks for a Nouvelle Star RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg launches football magazine week 09 the RTL Group intranet
Close relations to the listeners RTL Belgium’s radio arm comprises two very distinct, yet complementary, stations: the general-interest station Bel RTL and the music station Radio Contact. Poster of 30 years campaign Belgium - 4 March 2010
Backstage met Eric Adelbrecht, Head of Bel in Brussels means we are well-placed to hear RTL and Radio Contact, in his office to discuss news straight from the horse’s mouth, and we the positioning the stations he leads, the future do our level best to make any European stories, strategy and his challenges. which many people find dry and overly complex, readily understandable for our listeners. To this Who’s leading the way in the Belgian radio end, Bel RTL has secured the services of Yann- market? Antony Noghès, a political journalist specialising The battle for the leadership of the Belgian in European affairs, who has been stalking the radio market is being fought out between corridors of the EU institutions for over 10 years the two stations run by RTL Belgium. So the and has been ‘deciphering’ the latest European struggle for supremacy remains a ‘family’ affair. goings-on for our listeners on Friday evenings At the moment, Bel RTL is back in the lead, since January 2010. having attained an audience share of 18.9 per cent in the second half of 2009, according to By contrast, Radio Contact, which some people the Centre d’information sur les médias. And refer to as “the radio with the dolphin” because given its status as a general-interest station, I’d of its logo, commanded an audience share of say it’s only logical that it should occupy the top 17.6 per cent in the recent ratings survey, which spot. What’s more – and this is a source of great goes to show just how popular it is with Belgian satisfaction to me – we are currently extending listeners. our lead over the third-placed station, which is a public service broadcaster. Which surely proves Radio Contact just celebrates 30 years on that our strategy is exactly right. the air. At a time when music stations are struggling as a result of the digital revolu- If I had to describe Bel RTL in just a few words, tion, what do you feel are the main reasons I’d say it’s a station targeting an adult audience for Radio Contact’s success? whose success rests on four pillars: information, It’s true that our music station Radio Contact is relaxation, humour and sport. ahead in the ratings, behind Bel RTL maybe, but ahead of all its other competitors, be they Where information in particular is concerned, general-interest or music stations. The reasons we are currently developing real know-how for its robust health have to do with its original in the European news domain. Being based positioning, because even its founders described 3 week 09 the RTL Group intranet
it as ‘a general-interest music station’. Let me explain: music may be the station’s main pillar, but its schedule also attaches major importance to information and entertainment, as reflected by Good Morning, our morning programme characterised by good-natured, communicative humour. Our presenters do more talking than their counterparts usually do on other music stations, which I would describe as a little ‘colder’. Down the years, this approach has enabled the station to forge stronger links with Yann-Antony Noghès is a Bel RTL political journalist the listeners who like our brand of radio and analysing European affairs in the show L’Essentiel have embraced it as their own, as evidenced by After many years of leadership, Bel RTL our average daily listening duration of 2 hours in the first half of 2009 had briefly lost its and 44 minutes, a fantastic score for a music leading position to Radio Contact, but station. So Radio Contact owes its tremendous quickly regained the top slot. How did it success to a combination of two factors: firstly manage to get on top again? its ability to remain fresh and stay in tune with To claim back our crown we stepped up the the times, and secondly the close relations it has synergies between our TV channel RTL-TVI managed to establish with its listeners. In short, and radio station, both at the programme level Radio Contact is a popular, positive brand. and regarding the presenters and journalists involved. Indeed, it’s not at all rare for journal- ists or presenters to work for both RTL-TVI and Bel RTL, as is the case with star presenters like Alain Simons, Jean-Michel Zecca, Sabrina Jacobs, Sandrine Corman, Sandrine Dans and the journalist Pascal Vrebos, to name but a few. As for synergies at the programme level, the latest example concerned our cooking docu- reality show Top Chef, which RTL-TVI has just started airing on Mondays during primetime. That programme duly has its counterpart on Bel RTL. In other words, we are matching our popular TV shows with complementary radio programmes.
Nonetheless, RTL is best known for its exper- tise in the news domain, as the statistics clearly show. For instance, last Sunday’s 19:00 news broadcast on RTL-TVI achieved an overall audi- ence share of 54.5 per cent. And at the end of RTL-TVI’s news bulletin, if Bel RTL will happen to be playing host to a guest who is currently in the limelight, the TV presenter will invite view- ers to tune in to the station the following day. I believe that such cross-media linkage is quite simply “in our blood”. As you can see, the word “family” has real meaning for RTL Belgium, and this sense of family is undoubtedly facilitated by the physical proximity between us, since all the group’s entities work together under the same roof, in the same building.
Jean-Michel Zecca is a star presenter both on the radio station Bel RTL and on TV channel RTL-TVI 4 week 09 the RTL Group intranet
The digital revolution and the falloff in to be active and available on all platforms, both advertising are two dark clouds hanging over traditional and new. We will go to our listeners, the future of radio. How are you dealing with wherever they may be. So whether on their PC such threats? or mobile phone, we will remain the reference I would draw a clear distinction between the brand for them, the brand they know and love. changes induced by the advent of the Internet and mobile telephony, on the one hand, and As for advertising, you’re right, the current the crisis that has severely affected the entire market situation is definitely strained. Luckily for advertising market, on the other. For me, the us, we already started cutting our costs before Internet is clearly not a threat – anything but! the crisis started to bite, so we merely conti- In fact it represents an opportunity, offering a nued in the same vein in 2009 and didn’t need different way of consuming radio and opening to adopt any especially painful measures. On up a potentially ‘larger market’ for us. Both the the other hand, I must say that the visibility on Bel RTL and Radio Contact brands are destined today’s advertising market remains limited.
100 An accumulated full-time equivalent audience of employees 36.5%
Key figures of RTL Belgium’s radio business
Eric Adelbrecht: “Bel RTL and Radio Contact have clear target audiences and clear formats, and my job is to ensure that these are respected and that there is overall consistency. If within this framework the two stations compete with each other, so much the better!” 1 March edition of Le Soir
Career by mistake
Eric Adelbrecht, 42, entered the world of radio quite by chance at the age of 17. His dream back then, much to the dismay of his father, a senior EU official, was to become an actor. But Eric leapt at the chance to become a presenter on a free radio station as the first step in a career that he hoped would open up the doors of the film and theatre world to him. But destiny decided otherwise, and (fortunately for RTL Belgium) he never got to take up acting.
With mounting success, Eric has practise in all kinds of jobs in radio, as a presenter and voiceover artist for advertisements, then as programming director, gradually rising through all the ranks to actually run a radio station. In 2001 he was appointed CEO of the NRJ group in Belgium, a post he held until 2006, when TVI General Manager Freddy Tacheny summoned him to RTL Belgium to head up Radio Contact. Since January 2010 he is also in charge of Bel RTL.
A potted history: Firsts notched up by Radio Contact since 1980
1980: first to become a free radio station, then a private one 1982: first to air radio ads in Belgium 1986: first to put together a network 1988: first to use a digitised system for broadcasting ads 1992: first to broadcast in stereo for a radio station 1995: first to broadcast a radio by Web streaming 2000: first to offer associated data like Radio Data System 5 week 09 the RTL Group intranet
Let’s Dance again RTL Television strikes up the dance again with a new duo of moderators, a new jury of four, a new look and ten dance-happy celebrities. The presenters of Let’s Dance, Nazan Eckes (left) and Daniel Hartwich Germany - 1 March 2010
On Friday 9 April at 21:15, the celeb- The show’s jury of four is comprised of rity dance-off enters its third season on RTL the professional dancer Isabel Edvardsson, Television. Nazan Eckes and Daniel Hartwich Rock ‘n’ roll legend Peter Kraus, Germany’s most will moderate the show, which this extravagant fashion designer Harald Glööckler time around features the professional boxer and the most-feared dance judge Joachim Arthur Abraham, actress Nina Bott, Llambi. Schlager singer Achim Mentzel, Hollywood celebrity Brigitte Nielsen, actor Raúl In the two seasons aired on RTL Television to Richter, casting director Rolfe Scheider, date (in 2006 and 2007), the candidates danced writer Hillu Schwetje, actress Sophia Thomalla right through 50 pairs of shoes, performed and moderator/actress Sylvie van der Vaart as 68 dances, lost nearly 40 kilos of weight, had the candidates. In eight glamorous live shows, 206 costumes custom-tailored and practised the ten stars will venture onto the dance floor for more than 1,123 hours. In 2006 Wayne with a professional dancing partner. Only Carpendale and the professional dancer Isabel the best will make it to the grand finale, to Edvardsson won the season, and actress Susan compete for the title of “Dancing Star 2010”. Sideropoulos became the “Dancing Star” of 2007.
The new panel of judges: Peter Kraus, Harald Glööckler, Isabel Edvardsson and Joachim Llambi (from left to right)
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Safety on the road Super RTL, Deutsche Verkehrswacht (German traffic safety organisation) and the Stiftung Lesen reading foundation have partnered to create a traffic-safety campaign. Germany - 4 March 2010
The new campaign unter the heading, Sicher unterwegs! Das große Chuggington Verkehrs-Training seeks to build awareness for possible dangers, traffic safety and basic rules of the road among preschoolers.
Even the simplest rules of traffic are a big challenge for children, as they have a very Poster of the campaign limited ability to gauge the distance and speed of moving objects. As the most vulnerable traffic participants, they need our full atten- tion: each year, more than 30,000 children are involved in traffic accidents on German roads. Together, the experts on children’s entertain- ment and traffic safety have created a brochure for kindergartens. Targeted at the kindergarten teachers, it contains suggested games, crafts and books for successful traffic safety training, and provides a fun way for children to train their senses, practice important rules of conduct and familiarise themselves with traffic signs.
“The safety of preschoolers in traffic is a big priority for us. Together with Super RTL, we have created a campaign that hones reactions and perception among our smallest traffic visit participants in a fun way,” says Hannelore Herlan, press SuperRTL.de/ spokeswoman for the Deutsche verkehrstraining Verkehrswacht.
Educators can request the free brochure from Super RTL or download it from SuperRTL.de/verkehrstraining. Super RTL has also posted traffic safety related information and a prize giveaway on Toggolino.de.
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A new round begins Nouvelle Star made its return to television screens in prime time on M6 with almost 3.8 million viewers watching. France - 3 March 2010
As usual, the jury fanned out across France Thanks to NouvelleStar.fr, and Navarre to uncover “the pearl” of internet users can also take 2010, that special performer who would part in the great guessing thrill M6 viewers with his or her voice and game of predicting, “Who will charisma. It’s no small challenge, as the judges be the New Star of 2010?” visit had to choose from among 30,000 candidates – The winner will receive two a record number of performers who showed up tickets to the live shows that NouvelleStar.fr to audition for the programme’s eighth season. will take place, as it does each The dynamic Virginie Guilhaume will continue year, at the Pavillon Baltard as Nouvelle Star’s charming presenter. in Paris. And so that fans don’t miss any of Nouvelle Star 2010, A new personality has been added to the judg- NouvelleStar.fr will offer internet ing panel this year – Marco Prince, a composer, users free access to the show’s best songwriter and singer in the funk group FFF. moments, performances and behind-the-scenes He joins the other three mainstays of the jury: material as well as bonus videos. Lio, Philippe Manœuvre and André Manoukian. Interviewed by the daily newspaper Métro on The show was a huge hit with the French in the topic of his new job, Marco Prince said, with 2009, with an average of 4.2 million viewers a sense of humour: “I’ll just be myself: musi- tuning in every Tuesday night for an 18.9 per cally very honest. Let’s say that I always have an cent total audience share. As compared to the opinion on everything. And if they pay me to give 2008 edition, the 2009 season of Nouvelle Star it, on top of it all, I’ll do it with pleasure.” captivated 200,000 more viewers.
There is something new from M6 Web as well, which is offering NouvelleStar.fr, a site for web and mobile users that is even more interactive and greatly enhanced with new games and applications, content and video. For example, internet users can now play the role of judge by commenting on the performances of contest- ants.
Virginie Guilhaume, Lio, André Manoukian, Philippe Manoeuvre and Marco Prince (from left to right)
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More than one string to the bow M6 channel broadcast the French fiction filmVictoire Bonnot, starring Valérie Damidot, the emblematic presenter of D&CO. With an audience share of 31.1 per cent among housewives under 50, M6 was market leader in this target group. France - 4 March 2010
In this 90-minute drama filmed last summer in piqued curiosity of French audiences”. In total, Angoulême, Valérie Damidot plays the role of 4.71 million viewers tuned in to watch the TV Victoire Bonnot, the headmistress in a district film, representing a total audience share of 16.8 secondary school. A single mother of two, per cent. Victoire Bonnot exercises her profession with passion, enthusiasm and determination. She Valérie Damidot accepted the role of Victoire employs unusual methods to ensure the school Bonnot because she shares the film’s intention runs smoothly and won’t hesitate to remove any to “show what goes on in secondary schools obstacle before her that may keep her from her today, the problems children encounter, and objective of helping others. to be as realistic as possible.” Considered the most dynamic presenter on the French audio- On 4 March, the media website Toutelatele.com visual landscape by 40 per cent of the French, published an article titled “Victoire Bonnot, according to a survey in the magazine Stratégies, la revanche de Valérie Damidot” (Victoire Valérie Damidot has finally fulfilled her dream of Bonnot, the revenge of Valérie Damidot) and becoming an actress. “I always wanted to be like saying: “Yesterday evening, the TV drama Molière and gather my own troupe. I played act by Philippe Dajoux was the second most since year 6,“ says Valérie Damidot. A vocation watched programme among all audiences. The that was clearly visible yesterday evening. designer who has become an actress now,
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Content partnership Full-length episodes of popular programmes from Five, such as Home And Away and The Gadget Show, are to be made available at TV.com. United Kingdom - 26 February 2010
TV.com
Owned and operated by CBS Interactive, charge and available only in the UK. TV.com has concluded with Five its major deal “With the addition of Five’s content, TV.com for long-term content in Europe. For Five, it is continues its mission to be a place for TV the latest step in its strategy to syndicate its tele- entertainment in the UK,” said Jill Orr, vision content onto leading on-demand Managing Director and VP of CBS Interactive platforms. “Our partnership with TV.com is UK. “It’s not enough today to just rebroadcast further example of Five’s strategy to television shows online – people go online for expand and grow the reach of its content the community interaction and no one is better beyond the small screen to premium secure at building thriving online communities around digital platforms. I’m delighted to have been content than TV.com.” able to strike a deal with one of the most inno- vative and interesting players in online TV that Five launched its catch-up TV service, Demand will make it easier than ever before for new and Five, in June 2008. In addition to TV.com, younger audiences to discover Five’s fabulous content from Demand Five is available via Five’s line-up of shows,” said Jonathan Lewis, Five’s own web properties and its Youtube channel. Head of Digital Media.
Under the terms of the deal, programmes available on Five’s catch-up TV service, Demand Five, will be available at TV.com shortly after broadcast. TV.com users will also have access around 250 hours of Five’s archive content. These programmes will be free of
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Football in the spotlight RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg expands its sports coverage with the launch of Goal, an all-new football news magazine in partnership with the Luxembourgish Football Federation. Luxembourg - 26 February 2010
“After the success of Rebound, our weekly show dedicated to basketball, it seemed only natural to offer football lovers a programme entirely dedicated to the sport. Luxembourgers are fond of sports in general and especially football, and the Luxembourgish Football Federation has the biggest number of members. It was precisely for this audience of football fans that we decided to launch Goal, with national matches on the programme, of course, but also with segments offering analyses, featuring interviews with players and specialists. Supporters will also have their turn in the spotlight and will be invited to give their point of view. But we won’t confine ourselves to matches. We’ll leave the field to inform audiences on a variety ofsub- jects, including the training of young people, the women’s championship, the training of referees and plenty of other subjects,” declares Lucien Linster, Administrative Director at RTL Lëtzebuerg in charge of sports programming.
Matches will be picked up by a multi-camera Nico Keiffer (left) and Paul Philipp, President of the Luxembourgish Football Federation outside broadcast unit and streamed live on RTL.lu and RTL Radio Web TV every Sunday afternoon. A few minutes after the final whistle is blown, the match will also be available on video on RTL.lu.
Goal will make its debut on Monday 8 March. Presented by sports journalists Nico Keiffer and Camille Ney, the news magazine will be 10 to 12 minutes in length. The first show will be dedicated to the Racing FC Union Lëtzebuerg Luxembourg – UN Käerjéng 97 match. The Coupe de Luxembourg final will be broadcast on Monday 31 May 2010.
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Awards in February Hungary’s RTL Klub won five ofStory magazine’s ‘5 Star Awards’. Meanwhile, the news channel N-TV’s app was named Best News Application at the M-Days in Munich. István Tabáni, winner of A Star is Born Luxembourg - 2 March 2010
In Hungary, the leading celebrity magazine Story diary Ich will ja leben, oder – Ein Krebstagebuch regularly presents its ‘5 Star Awards’. Its readers and the GDR documentary Der letzte Sommer voted RTL Klub productions and people into first der DDR). Wolf Schiebel, Volker Loring, and place five time: The showMarry me, Daniel won Karl-Heinz Bochnig are nominated for the in the ‘Best of the Best’ category, while A Star special award in Fiction, for the special is Born was voted Best TV Show. Éva Barabás, effects seen in the Teamworx-produced two-part moderator of the magazine Fókusz, won the movie Vulkan, which aired on RTL Television award for Best Moderator, and István Tabáni, the in October 2009. The Adolf Grimme Award, winner of A Star is Born, won two awards: one regarded as one of the foremost honours in for ‘Best Musical Production’ and the Audience German television, will be presented on Award voted on by the readers of the magazine’s 26 March 2010, after this year’s winners are online edition, Story Online. announced by the Grimme-Institut on 10 March.
At the 5th M-Days in Munich, the tradeshow for 30 Tage Angst, a UFA Fernsehproduktion film, mobile media, N-TV’s mobile app won a ‘Show has scored three nominations for the Jupiter your App’ award at the end of January. The audience award administered by the German popular iPhone application came in second movie magazine Cinema. The film itself is in the among the 120 apps in the running, and was running for ‘Best TV Movie’, while Ann-Kathrin voted Best News Application. The audience Kramer and Oliver Stokowski are nominated for voted on the functionality, originality and design ‘Best TV Actor/Actress’ for their performance in of the apps. 30 Tage Angst.
UFA Fernsehproduktion, RTL Television, The Pietshow, produced by Grundy UFA, Teamworx, Phoenix Film and Vox are in the has been nominated for another International running for the ‘Adolf Grimme Awards 2010’ Digital Emmy Award. The International Aca- with a total of five nominations. The latest film demy of Television Arts & Sciences presents this in the successful crime series Bella Block – award in recognition of outstanding content for Vorsehung, produced by UFA Fernsehproduk- digital platforms. The awards will be presented tion, is one of the 16 films competing for this on 12 April at MIPTV in Cannes. year’s Fiction award. Flemming, another crime series – this one produced by the UFA subsidi- Radio 538 has received three ‘International ary Phoenix Film – was nominated for a Grimme Dance Music Award’ nominations: one for ‘Best in the ‘Series & Miniseries’ category. Vox has Radio Station’ and two in the ‘Best Podcast’ two chances at a Grimme Award in ‘Information category, for Dance Department and Tiësto’s & Culture’: the nominees in this category include Club Life. The awards will be presented at the two Spiegel TV documentaries (the cancer Winter Music Conference in Miami in March.
12 54.5% audience share On Sunday 28 February, a stunning 54.5 per cent of viewers in French- speaking Belgium watched the 19:00 evening news, presented by the journalist Caroline Fontenoy. This record audience share once again confirms RTL-TVI’s leadership over the public-service channels in the news segment. week 09 the RTL Group intranet
An American in Paris Following John Travolta and Martin Scorsese, it was Leonardo di Caprio’s turn to visit the rue Bayard studios to be interviewed about Shutter Island, which has been released in cinemas in France in partnership with RTL Radio France. France - 26 February 2010
High-quality factual programming FremantleMedia Enterprises will distribute home entertainment content for National Geographic in the UK and Ireland. Unted Kingdom - 1 March 2010
Marketing Tape.tv and Bunch.tv IP Deutschland will from now on handle the marketing for Tape.tv, an interactive, customisable online music television channel, and for the lifestyle portal Bunch.tv. Germany - 1 March 2010
Breakthrough or diversion? Joran van der Sloot, the main figure in one of Holland’s biggest criminal cases, spoke “on the record” for the first time to RTL 5 on 28 February about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. 16.7 per cent of viewers aged 20 to 34 tuned in. Netherlands - 1 March 2010
RTL Television has its best February since 2003 The Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland channels attracted 34.8 per cent of the 14- to 49-year-old viewer market in February, putting them six percentage points ahead of the ProSiebenSat.1 group (28.8 per cent). With an audience share of 17.9 per cent among viewers aged 14 to 49, RTL Television recorded its best February ratings since 2003. Germany - 2 March 2010 14 week 09 the RTL Group intranet
Audience figures on the rise for M6 France’s M6 channel achieved a total audience share of 10.4 percent in February 2010 and recorded a gain of 100,000 viewers in the evening as compared to February 2009. France - 2 March 2010
RTL 4 defies the Olympics RTL Nederland’s channels collectively attracted 30.1 per cent of the 20- to 49-year-old viewer market in February 2010, putting them behind the public-service broadcasters (33.5 per cent), but ahead of the SBS group (22.3 per cent). Netherlands - 3 March 2010
Number one channel on DTT with viewers under 50 W9 confirms healthy scores for February 2010 with a 2.7 per cent total audience share and a 4.3 per cent share of viewers under 50. France - 3 March 2010
Great debut for Pilipinas Got Talent The first audition episode aired on broadcaster ABS-CBN on 20 February 2010 in the highly competitive Saturday prime-time slot at 19:30, drawing a nationwide audience share of 38.7 per cent. Asia - 4 March 2010
A storm is brewing on W9 Starting Thursday 4 March at 20:15, W9 will follow the day-to-day activities of seven seasoned fishermen in a new 10-part docu-reality series presented by Stéphane Rotenberg, Les pêcheurs de l’extrême (Million Dollar Catch). France - 4 March 2010 15 week 09 the RTL Group intranet
People Maximilian Bolenius Maximilian Bolenius Germany - 2 March 2010
FremantleMedia Enterprises appointed Prior to his new role, Maximilian was Director Maximilian Bolenius as Vice President Sales, ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) in Germany. Sales, German-Speaking Europe & Eastern During his time at ZDFE, he assessed all kids Europe. programming for international distribution and supervised the production and marketing of Maximilian replaces Veronika Gracher who ZDFE’s kids multi-platform products. He also recently left FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) established all-time sales records within the after nearly five years to pursue endeavours English and Spanish speaking territories as well outside of the industry. Maximilian Bolenius as the Scandinavian market. will take up his new post at the end of March and will report to Mel Alcock, FME’s CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa. In his new role, Maximilian will be charged with optimising all business potential across the distribution of television programming and format sales from the FME portfolio to potential and current TV clients, whilst developing and growing new relationships within the industry.
Mel commented, “We are thrilled to have Maximilian on board as we continue to expand in the region. FME is incredibly strong in these territories, and his expertise will undoubtedly help bolster our current relationships as well as to develop new ones. In 2009 alone, FremantleMedia aired 90 programmes in 16 territories within the region accounting for more than 2,300 hours of television. FME’s tape sales have proven just as successful with over 350 titles sold over the last few years. With Maximilian’s appointment, we look forward to continuing that growth.”
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