11 February 2010
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Sophisticated and intelligent Christof Lang on the upward ratings trend of RTL Nachtjournal
Germany Netherlands Increased TV viewing time X Factor is off in 2009 to a new season
France United States Valéry Gerfaud on the success Original Productions partners of M6 Replay with Spike TV week 06 the RTL Group intranet
11 February 2010
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Montage with Christof Lang, Ilka Essmüller and Isabelle Körner (from left to right)
Sophisticated and intelligent Christof Lang on the upward ratings trend of RTL Nachtjournal 2 Germany Netherlands Increased TV viewing time X Factor is off in 2009 to a new season
France United States Valéry Gerfaud on the success Original Productions partners of M6 Replay with Spike TV week 06 the RTL Group intranet
“Those who watch us get more” RTL Nachtjournal has for several years led the market in German late-night news, and has started the year 2010 with the best monthly audience share in its history. Backstage spoke with Christof Lang, the programme’s Managing Editor and moderator, about the show’s recipe for success. Christof Lang Germany - 11 February 2010
By the time Christof Lang, Managing Editor just 4.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent of young of RTL Nachtjournal, arrives at his office on a audiences respectively. RTL Nachtjournal regular workday, the day shift has been hard has even drawn level with Heute Journal or at work for hours: he usually gets here around surpassed Tagesthemen, the ZDF and ARD 15:00. Since the show’s main moderator Ilka main news shows that air earlier in the evening. Essmüller is on maternity leave, Lang now usually moderates the show in addition to In January 2010, RTL Nachtjournal once again his tasks as Managing Editor, with his N-TV significantly improved its ratings, when an colleague Isabelle Körner covering for him one average 19.9 per cent of 14- to 49-year-olds week per month. “It’s more work, but it’s fun, tuned in to watch. “Of course we are very too,” says Lang. The preparations for the daily pleased with this development,” says Christof late-night show begin in the morning. Around Lang. When RTL Nachtjournal first went on air 11:00, the Managing Editor, the day’s modera- a good 16 years ago, many critics felt that a tor and the editor in charge have a call with the late-night news show based on concepts RTL Nachtjournal day planners – from home – to from the US wouldn’t work in Germany. The discuss the topics for the upcoming programme. consensus was that late-night news would put But the workday doesn’t really enter its hot phase too much of a strain on viewers. The reality is a until the news conference at 15:30: topics are different story: with a share of 15.2 per cent, coordinated, the footage prepared and edited, RTL Nachtjournal is well ahead of the competi- and the moderator’s comments written. tion even in terms of total audience.
By presenting plenty of facts, backgrounders, “I believe our success is based on the fact that we and editorials, the late-night magazine has systematically not only sum up the day’s news, established itself as a hallmark of German TV but also focus on aspects that we feel would be news journalism: in 2008, RTL Nachtjournal especially interesting for our viewers,” explains attracted an average audience share of 16.5 Christof Lang. “We examine the background and per cent share among viewers aged 14 to 49. try to give viewers added value. In times of Apps In 2009, the figure increased again consider- and the Internet, those who watch us as the ably, by 1.1 percentage points to 17.6 per cent. last news programme of the day already have This puts RTL Nachtjournal well ahead of an overview of the general news situation.” The corresponding formats by the public-serv- approach obviously works. Lang explains: ice broadcasters, whose Nachtmagazin “Everyday, we try anew to manage a certain (ARD) and Heute Nacht (ZDF) attracted balancing act. RTL Nachtjournal should be
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RTL Nachtjournal: clear market leader for late-night news
18 Audience Shares 17.6 in 2009
16 14 to 49 15.2 4+ 14
12
10 9.3 8.6 8 8.2 7.1
6 5.5 4.5 4
2
0 RTL Nachtjournal Vox Nachrichten Heute Nacht (ZDF) Nachtmagazin (ARD)
sophisticated and intelligent, but at the same “News programming is very important for a time simple in the positive sense of the word. Our broadcaster like RTL Television,” explains advantage vis-à-vis the traditional evening news Lang. “Primarily because of our responsibility to shows is that, thanks to the later broadcasting society, but also of course to keep viewers slot, we can not only sum up the facts, but can coming back to our channel.” evaluate and question them and put them in context. We explain complicated contexts with Starting in summer, when the editorial team will the necessary care and with a view to ensuring have moved to its new premises in Cologne- that everyone can understand them.“ The aim of Deutz, the show will be broadcast from a new RTL Nachtjournal is to present reports which studio. “Of course the new studio opens up a are easy to understand and presented from the lot of new possibilities for us – if for no other viewers’ perspective whenever possible, says reason than that the technology has progressed Lang. by leaps and bounds over the past five years,” says Lang. However, he says, nothing will For example, RTL Nachtjournal systematically change about the show’s basic concept. “Clearly avoids presenting reports about federal politics the format doesn’t need to be reinvented, but we in the capital of Berlin in conjunction with the can add to its visual appeal and modernise it – usual footage from the government district – adjust the little details, as it were.” limousines pulling up outside buildings, external long shots, or endless hallways in the parliamen- Once RTL Nachtjournal has aired live at tary buildings. After all, political decisions affect midnight, Christof Lang’s day ends at 1:00, and people and businesses in Germany. So RTL the lights go out in the editorial offices. Most of Nachtjournal often reports on politics against the staff are already asleep in bed at that point – the backdrop of living rooms, doctors’ offices or resting up for a new day. manufacturing halls – the places specifically affected by the politicians’ decisions. This is preferably done in a reportage format as specific examples are the best way to illustrate the implications of a decision.
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Germans are watching more and more television Television continues to be the most-used media and once again saw considerable gains in viewing time in 2009 – even without a major sports event like the Olympics. Germany - 8 February 2010
On average, Germans over the age of 14 watched 5 minutes more TV per day than they did the previous year: 266 minutes. In the target 14- to 49-year-old audience, viewing time increased by 4 minutes per day to 182 minutes. Heads of household aged 14 to 49 led the pack, growing their TV habit by a full 6 minutes per day to 237 minutes. Children, too, increased their viewing time by 2 minutes. Only among young adults aged 14 to 29 there was no increase: at 136 minutes a day, the figure was on par with that of the previous year.
If you only look at the three major German commercial channels RTL Television, Sat 1 and ProSieben, it is striking that these are responsible for a good 65 per cent of the increase in viewing time among adults over the age of 14. In the 14 to 49 target group, the increase was due almost exclusively to the major commercial channels. RTL Television in particular contributed a major proportion – nearly 3 minutes more year on year, totalling 70 per cent of the growth.
This overall positive upward trend in average viewing time has continued in the New Year: compared with the previous year, in January 2010 it increased considerably again in all surveyed target groups.
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“M6 Replay, the group’s anti-piracy arm” As a guest of Buzz Média Orange – Le Figaro, M6 Web’s Managing Director Valéry Gerfaud spoke primarily about the success story of the Group’s catch-up TV platform and new TV viewing habits. Valéry Gerfaud France - 5 February 2010
Last week, RTL Group CEO Gerhard Zeiler hit M6 Replay would cannibalise M6’s audience, but out forcefully against piracy. At a colloquium in very comprehensive studies show that the more Berlin, he pointed to “the piracy of content that people watch M6 Replay, the more they watch is also taking place in the audiovisual sector“. M6. It’s a slightly younger audience, especially Valéry Gerfaud took this up by portraying M6 on PCs, but from a socio-demographic point of Replay, one of the two catch-up TV platforms view one that is nonetheless pretty close to the (alongside W9 Replay) of Groupe M6, as an channel’s audience”. anti-piracy arm and duly pointing out that “youngsters are turning from pirating to watching So how can this service be converted into M6 Replay”. money? When this question was put to him, Valéry Gerfaud explained that while M6 Web’s The success of the catch-up TV platform business model is based on advertising, the launched less than two years ago has company also has other sources of revenue: certainly met expectations. Last December “Advertising is a major source, accounting for it attracted 2.5 million visitors and, over 50 per cent of our earnings. We also have according to Médiamétrie/Netratings, more a pretty diverse source of revenues via our than 20 million of its videos were watched. price comparer Achetezfacile, for which we are Groupe M6’s websites were visited by no fewer paid every time users click through to a dealer. than 12.4 million unique visitors that same month. On top of that, we have a syndication and distribution model like the one we apply with Thanks to M6 Replay, “M6’s content is present some distributors of M6 Replay or with M6 MSN on all emerging platforms: PCs, the Internet, Actu. Finally, our model is transactional, like IPTV, services offered by Internet access the one we have with our partner Habbo. This providers. What’s more, the same will soon generates revenue for us every time users apply to connected TV”, Gerfaud said. He then download or purchase virtual merchandise on went on to point out that “many people said that the Habbo website”, he concluded.
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Original Productions partners with Spike TV Spike TV is partnering with Thom Beers, Philip Segal and FremantleMedia’s Original Productions to develop a weekly half-hour series that will be a combination of talk and comedy. United States - 8 February 2010
The venture was recently announced by Thom Beers, CEO of Original Productions, and Sharon Levy, Senior Vice President, Original Program- ming for Spike TV. The series will showcase interesting guests from all walks of life who find themselves in extraordinary situations, such as a convenience store clerk who defended himself against would-be criminals, or a former stock broker who quit his job to join the Green Berets in Afghanistan. The show will have two hosts and various correspondents and the network is currently scouring the country to cast the series pilot with the right fresh face and regular guy-image.
George “Maddox” Ouzounian, author of the number two New York Times Bestseller, The Alphabet of Manliness and I Am Better Than Your Kids and Dax Herrera, author of Man Points and Men Are Better Than Women are attached to the project. Thom Beers, CEO of Original Productions says: “Guys crave to be informed and entertained in an authentic voice. There are lots of options in late night right now, but none directly tailor-made to the hard-to-reach young male audience as our show would be.”
Spike TV has also ordered a third season of Original’s 1,000 Ways to Die, the second highest- rated original series in the history of the network. Season-to-date, the current second season of 1,000 Ways To Die is averaging 1.6 million viewers. Digitally, the programme ranked as a top 5 original show on Spike.com in Decem- ber 2009. The show’s average weekly online audience has increased by 84 per cent year-on- year and the series was the most-watched show on Spike TV’s Video-on-Demand throughout December. 1,000 Ways to Die showcases some of the most outrageously true stories about those who succumbed to the grim reaper in the most unorthodox of styles. 7 week 06 the RTL Group intranet
Lots of promising talent The new season of X Factor started on RTL 4 on 5 February. 1.5 million viewers tuned in to see the first of 15,000 candidates compete for a place on the “X-Campus” – an audience share of 29.4 per cent among shoppers aged 20 to 49. Netherlands - 8 February 2010
The jury of X Factor
The judges Gordon, Angela Groothuizen, Eric Over the next three weeks, the format is van Tijn and Stacey Rookhuizen will have their completely devoted to the auditions in hands full again this year in sorting out the real Eindhoven, Amsterdam and Utrecht. The talent from the 15,000 applicants. For many the X-Campus, where the wheat is separated from show will lead back to the rehearsal room rather the chaff, begins on 26 February. At the end of than pave the way to the pinnacle of pop. The the X-Campus, the candidates are divided into programme is presented by Wendy van Dijk four categories: boys aged 15 to 25, girls aged and Martijn Krabbé, who will also try to calm the 15 to 25, over 25s, and groups. From 26 March, contestants’ nerves between performances. the four jury members will then each coach one category and prepare for the big stage of the live “I’m looking forward to the new season of shows, which start on 9 April and culminate in X Factor,” enthused Erland Galjaard, the final on 29 May. RTL 4 Programme Director, in the lead-up to the season. “With the talent and the quality we saw on Friday, we will continue the success seen by the concept last year and give a positive boost to family entertainment.”
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RTL Televizija organised private screening of Novo, novo vrijeme in Zagreb Novo, novo vrijeme, a documentary portraying the first presidential democratic elections in Croatia, was presented to a top-class audience. RTL Televizija is a co-producer of the sequal entitled 10 godina poslije. Croatia - 10 February 2010
Eminent Croatian politicians packed the hall tion of the newly elected president Ivo Josipovic. of the Europa Cinema in the city centre of It will be broadcast on RTL Televizija on Zagreb on 7 February: Croatian President 21 February, right after Croatia’s third Stjepan Mesic, the president-elect Ivo Josipovic, president Ivo Josipovic takes up residence at the and many other politicians and personalities Presidential Palace Pantovcak. from Croatian public life, along with Andreas Rudas, Executive Vice President Regional The date and venue of the screening have Operations & Business Development Central symbolic value as well: on 7 February 2000, and Eastern Europe at RTL Group, and President Mesic won his first presidential Johannes Züll, CEO of RTL Televizija, mandate and the documentary was first shown attended the private screening of to the public at the Europa Cinema. Novo, novo vrijeme (A New, New Age). Directed by Igor Mirkovic and Rajko Grlic, this documentary portrays the first democratic election of a Croatian president in the year 2000. It was the first Croatian documentary distributed in cinemas across the country, to an audience of over 30,000 people.
After the screening of the movie, Director Mirkovic spoke to President Mesic about his thoughts on the first elections and on ten years of being the country’s president: “It is not very likely that we will again have a president in a white uniform in ten, twenty, or thirty years”, Director Mirkovic and President Mesic discussing the movie commented Stjepan Mesic who refered to Tito’s after the screening legendary white uniform, which was also worn for ceremonies by the Croatian President Franjo Tudman. “Ivo Josipovic already represents a major change. He is the only one who has been elected and who has never done time in jail. That is a very good thing,” said the president, adding in a more serious vein that he hopes Croatia became a state of law in the full meaning of the word during his first and second mandate.
The audience not only watched the movie and the discussion, but also became part of a sequel entitled 10 godina poslije (10 years later), which was partially shot in the cinema. The sequel President-elect of Croatia, Mr. Josipovic and his wife, follows President Mesic from the night his the daughters of the current President, President Mesic, successor was elected in 2009 to the inaugura- Andreas Rudas, Mrs Züll and Johannes Züll (from left to right)
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M6 Mobile Music Live returns to rock the Web For the third consecutive year, the group’s telephony subsidiary M6 Mobile by Orange is mounting a major music competition for amateurs that may springboard them into a career. M6 Music Live 2009 © Nebinger-Orban/ABACAPRESS.COM France - 11 February 2010
On 4 January M6 Mobile launched the search for talented new artists who will have the chance to play major stage venues in France. A jury of specialists in the music business will select 100 amateur groups from the 800 that registered at the start.
Beginning next Monday it will be the M6 Mobile subscribers’ turn to have the privilege of voting for their 50 favourite groups on the Inside M6 site and on their mobile phones. At the final stage, only 10 groups will play France’s top mu- sical venues, the Zénith in Lille (2 April) and in Montpellier (30 April), where they will open for other renowned artists.
At the end of these two concerts, internet users will choose the four group finalists, who will have the chance to appear on stage again on 19 June at Issy-les-Moulineaux before a crowd of 25,000 and in the presence of French and international artists.
The previous edition of M6 Mobile Music Live was a huge success, with 1,000 groups signed up, 37,000 spectators at six concerts and more than 1.1 million pages viewed on the operation’s website. The 2009 edition was also broadcast six times on TV, on the M6 and M6 Music Hits chan- nels. Music is definitely a major component in the DNA of Groupe M6.
10 Spectacular, Glamorous & Sexy Penélope Cruz in Nine, the new Rob Marshall’s musical comedy starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sophia Loren, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson and Marion Cotillard. Nine is being distributed by SND, a subsidiary of M6. week 06 the RTL Group intranet
RTL Nederland starts 2010 on a high note RTL Nederland’s channels collectively attracted 30.4 per cent of 20- to 49-year-old viewers in January, putting them ahead of the public-service channels (28.8 per cent) and the SBS group (25.8 per cent). Netherlands - 5 February 2010
RTL HD and Vox HD new on Tele Columbus RTL HD and Vox HD will from now on be broadcast on the majority of Tele Columbus’s independent networks. Germany - 5 February 2010
A week of fun and adventure Together with the renowned travel agency Ruf Jugendreisen, Super RTL is again organising the Toggo summer camp this year. For the first time there will also be a camp during the Easter and autumn holidays. Germany - 8 February 2010
“What you’ve witnessed is important” RTL Radio France addresses its internet users on the subject of a news photo and video sharing site that has just been created for them: Témoins.RTL.fr. France - 9 February 2010
Websites show strong growth The latest IVW figures indicate that the Internet sites produced by RTL Interactive and N-TV have had their best start ever to a New Year. The social network Wer-kennt-wen.de hit a new high with 186.5 million Visits. Germany - 9 December 2010
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Merlin to air on US cable channel Syfy The channel Syfy has acquired the basic cable rights from FremantleMedia Enterprises for all 26 episodes (both seasons) of Merlin, including the premiere of Season Two, which was previously unseen on US television. Germany - 9 December 2010
New style and slogan On 8 February, Ren TV changed its positioning as “a channel with a male outlook”, targeting male viewers aged 25 to 45. Also, the new slogan “Life is a venture!” was introduced. Russia - 11 January 2010
The Tour de France is on RTL Lëtzebuerg The company has just secured exclusive rights for the Tour de France in Luxembourg for the next three years. Luxembourg - 11 January 2010
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People Bettina Klauser Bettina Klauser Germany - 10 February 2010
Bettina Klauser (37) will take over the manage- ment of the N-TV press office with effect from 15 February.
As Senior Communications Editor and Press Spokesperson, she will be in charge of internal and external company communications, as well as the news channel’s programme-related publications. In this role, Klauser will report to N-TV’s managing director, Hans Demmel.
Says Demmel: “I am delighted that we were able to recruit Bettina Klauser to head our press office. As an experienced communications expert, she will assist us in N-TV’s continued upward path.“
In addition to her new position at N-TV, Bettina Klauser will continue to serve as a spokesperson for Mediengruppe RTL Deutsch- land. In this role she will also continue to report to Christian Körner (38), Head of Communications at RTL Television, a position that also puts him in charge of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s communications.
Bettina Klauser has worked as a corporate communications editor at RTL Television since 2001. Since 2007, she has also been part of the Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland communi- cations team, where she is mainly in charge of communicating matters relating to media policy and technology. Before joining Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, and after earning a degree in humanities and social sciences in combina- tion with business studies, Klauser worked as a freelance journalist and as a PR editor at Beecken’s Corporate Communications Agency in Düsseldorf. 14 http://backstage.rtlgroup.fr http://backstage.rtlgroup.com http://backstage.rtlgroup.de
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