week 05 / 4 February 2016
GGAAMEME ON!ON! Get acquainted with FremantleMedia’s video game company Ludia
France North America Luxembourg M6 acquires the American Gods’ BCE and Enex broadcasting rights to protagonist join forces eleven Euro 2016 matches unveiled week 05 / 4 February 2016
GAME ON! Get acquainted with FremantleMedia’s video game company Ludia
France North America Luxembourg M6 acquires the American Gods’ BCE and Enex broadcasting rights to protagonist join forces eleven Euro 2016 matches unveiled
Cover Montage
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
Acquisition of the broadcasting rights to eleven Euro 2016 matches M6 p.9 GROWING GAME-MANIA! Ludia American Gods’ p.4–8 protagonist name unveiled FremantleMedia North America p.10
RTL Group’s companies join forces BCE / Enex p.11
Launch of Game of Thrones marketing campaign Big Picture RTL II p.13 p.12
SHORT NEWS p.14
PEOPLE
p.15 GROWING GAME-MANIA! Canada – 4 February 2016 Ludia
Following the success of Ludia’s video game Jurassic World™: The Game, Backstage interviewed Alex Thabet, President and CEO of Ludia, about the company’s history, its business model and its plans for 2016 and beyond.
“JURASSIC WORLD WAS THE COMPANY’S BIGGEST HIT. I THINK IT WAS KIND OF A PERFECT STORM”
Alex Thabet, President and CEO of Ludia
4 Montreal-based video game company Ludia is a member of SOME OF LUDIA’S MOST POPULAR TITLES: the FremantleMedia entertainment family and its mission is to create and distribute cross-platform digital JURASSIC DRAGONS: FAMILY FEUD & WORLD RISE OF BERK FRIENDS games with mass consumer appeal. Founded in 2007 by experienced industry players, Ludia’s primary focus was to develop games based Platforms Platforms Platforms on well-known intellectual properties, iOS, Android, Amazon iOS, Android, Amazon, iOS, Android, Amazon, especially coming from the TV Facebook Facebook ecosystem. Downloads & highlights Downloads & highlights Downloads • Downloads: 24M • Downloads: 34.5M 10.5M And this is how the commercial • #1 on App Store • #1 on App Store in over 30 countries in 85 countries (2014) relationship with FremantleMedia • Top 10 grossing app began – through the licensing of The in over 50 countries Launched Launched Launched Price Is Right which was essentially 2015 2014 2014 the first property the company Price Price Price secured back in 2007. Alex Thabet Freemium Freemium Freemium recalls: “Bear in mind that at the # of languages available # of languages available # of languages available 10 6 English time Ludia was just a business on paper so it was a pretty tough exercise to convince a company like FremantleMedia to grant us the rights to one of their product portfolio consists of original and branded beloved properties, but we did agree to do so and properties including: Jurassic ParkTM Builder, that was essentially the factor that created the entire Dragons: Rise of Berk, Family Feud®, Where’s success of the company.” Waldo? and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Following The Price Is Right and Chef Gordon Over the years the business model has evolved Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, over the last seven considerably, from a retail-driven business to a years the company continued to release around digital distribution based business. Ludia’s business five games per year and now has more than 50 model closely followed this evolution to meet the games in total. Its innovative and high-quality needs of its audience. Today all of Ludia’s games
GET A GLIMPSE AT THE JURASSIC WORLDTM: THE GAME
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5 are distributed via digital distribution channels. Jurassic WorldTM: The Game follows the success of Alex Thabet explains: “With the digital video game Ludia’s previous prehistoric game, Jurassic ParkTM emergence in some of the new platforms like the Builder, inspired by the beloved franchise. iPhone or Facebook, our model has changed significantly. Obviously now you’re not going to retail Jurassic WorldTM: The Game has been Ludia’s stores to buy a game, you’re actually downloading biggest launch in the studio’s history. Alex Thabet that product right away on your device. But on top of explains: “Jurassic World was the company’s biggest that, because of that distribution methodology, that hit. I think it was kind of a perfect storm. The movie has an influence as well on the way games have did extremely well in the box office. Our previous been built and monetised. Advertising has become a games based on the Jurassic World franchise had much greater portion of our revenue stream.” already done very well. We built on that success and know-how to create an even greater experience Regarding the ad business he further explains: and tie-in between the movie release and the game. “Nowadays we have a tendency to better monetise In its first month, it made over 25 million Canadian our games when we integrate micro-transactions, dollars in revenues and attracted millions of users rather than a one-off big amount that we charge our every month, connecting to the game every day.” users. We are currently working with four or five ad providers that we integrate in various parts of our In total Ludia’s games were downloaded 80 million games. These integrations have become pretty times in 2015. Following this success, the company smart in a way that minimises the intrusion of these has announced a self-funded growth plan of ads in the experience while still providing good 30 million Canadian dollars to be reinvested in returns on the advertisers’ investments.” the business in the next two years, as well as the creation of 100 new positions. 2015 was a particularly successful year for the company. In April, Ludia launched the successful “WE’RE GOING TO EXPAND Jurassic WorldTM: The Game which over the course of 2015 achieved a massive 24 million downloads OUR MONTREAL-BASED around the world. Available on iOS and Android STUDIO FROM ABOUT devices, Jurassic WorldTM: The Game has quickly 300 PEOPLE TODAY TO become a fans’ favourite, ranked number one on 400 HOPEFULLY BY THE Apple’s App Store in over 30 countries and one END OF THIS YEAR” of the top ten grossing apps in over 50 countries. Alex Thabet Next >
Jurassic WorldTM: The Game has been Ludia’s biggest launch in the studio’s history
6 “Most of that investment will go on hiring new staff,” says Alex Thabet. “We’re going to expand our Montreal-based studio from about 300 people today to 400 hopefully by the end of this year, but right now it’s a two-year plan. The other part will be to acquire new properties and expand the portfolio of games that we’re going to be developing over the years.” These new licences will allow Ludia to take on more projects with a broader consumer appeal and reach a larger and more Another strong franchise of Ludia: Dragons. Photo taken during the recent visit of varied fan base in the casual to RTL Group’s Co-CEO Guillaume de Posch to Ludia’s studio mid-core games sector.
In addition to creating new games, Ludia’s goal is “IT’S ALSO A VERY to maintain its successful ones and also grow the infrastructure of its studio. As a creative company, YOUNG ORGANISATION. Alex Thabet highlights how important it is to work THE AVERAGE AGE IS in an inspiring environment: “As we go forward, we PROBABLY AROUND 35” want to make sure that we keep the best possible Alex Thabet working environment for our staff and that’s been a priority for the business for years now.” now offered exclusively on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. A card battle game genre, Asked about why people love working for Ludia, it was launched alongside the highly-anticipated Alex Thabet says: “We are still a relatively small film, Kung Fu Panda 3, released in North American company. We have just over 300 employees which cinemas on 29 January 2016. “Kung Fu Panda: makes us very accessible. We keep a certain Battle of Destiny marks Ludia’s entrance into the proximity between everyone. It’s also a very young card battle game genre, and there could not be any organisation. The average age is probably around better franchise than Kung Fu Panda to deliver this 35. It’s a very creative environment, very dynamic, exciting experience,” says Alex Thabet. “We have which overall makes it a very fun place to be part of.” a long history with DreamWorks Animation and are proud to be working with them once again on the Kung Fu Panda: Battle of Destiny is Ludia’s latest expansive and rich world of Kung Fu Panda, one of release. Based on the successful DreamWorks the most successful entertainment franchises in the Animation franchise Kung Fu Panda, the game is industry.”
Kung Fu Panda: Battle of Destiny marks Ludia’s entrance into the card battle game genre
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7
ALEX THABET’S GAME PROFILE
“I have a wide range of games that I like to play and obviously it’s part of my job to experience a lot of these games that are on the market. I personally try and make sure that we get involved in games and genres that we all like to play.”
“I get a thrill from playing our classic game shows that we’ve created. You know, I grew up with things like The Price is Right and Family Feud®. Actually I love trivia and I love watching those shows, and I love playing them. On top of that, I have young kids that will bring me back to things like Jurassic World, Dragons and Kung Fu Panda.”
CLICK TO CHECK OUT LUDIA’S VIDEO GAMES
8 M6 LANDS RIGHTS TO TOP FOOTBALL COVERAGE M6
M6 has secured the rights to some of the best matches, including the final, of this year’s Uefa’s Euro 2016 tournament, which will take place in France from 10 June to 10 July. France – 2 February 2016
M6 will broadcast a total of 11 games in this major sporting event. In addition to six last-32 ties, for which the draw is already known, M6 will also be treating its viewers to two last-16 games and a quarter final that will feature France (if the national team qualifies), a semi-final and, most importantly of all, the final! Thus, French viewers will be able to follow the fortunes of their favourite team on M6 for the first time.
Speaking on France Info about winning these highly coveted rights, Nicolas de Tavernost, Président du Directoire of Groupe M6, said: “It will be a great moment for France, and a great moment for television. As the second largest private channel in France, M6 wanted ©M6 / Sylvie Lancrenon to be part of this great event, so naturally we are happy to have secured the rights to cover it on our channels. The teams involved made an immense effort, in mutual fair play between TF1 and M6. Our initial objective was to land coverage of the final and we participated in the competition to achieve that. So we will be covering the final, which evidently makes us very happy and proud. (…) Our image will be given a boost, which is very important, and of course we definitely wanted to be involved
Nicolas de Tavernost because the tournament is being played in France and the French team has qualified.”
Coverage will start on M6 on 11 June 2016, with the last-32 match between England and Russia.
9 UNVEILING THE PROTAGONIST FremantleMedia North America
Starz and FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) have announced that Ricky Whittle (The 100, Austenland) has been cast as Shadow Moon in the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed fantasy novel, American Gods. The series will begin shooting in April. North America – 1 February 2016
American Gods is produced by FMNA, while Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Heroes) and Michael Green (The River, Kings, Heroes) are writers and showrunners. David Slade (Hannibal, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) is directing the pilot and additional episodes. Starz retains all network pay TV and SVOD rights to the project, while FremantleMedia is distributing the series worldwide.
Neil Gaiman says: “I’m thrilled that Ricky has been cast as Shadow. His auditions were remarkable. The process of taking a world out of the pages of a book, and putting it onto the screen has begun. American Gods is, at its heart, a book about immigrants, and it seems perfectly appropriate that Shadow will, like so much else, be coming to America. Ricky Whittle I’m delighted Ricky will get to embody Shadow. Now the fun starts.”
Bryan Fuller and Michael Green add: “We searched every continent and country and all the islands in between for our Shadow Moon, and we are lucky to have found Ricky. Fans of the novel will find he has every bit of the heart of the character they fell in love with.”
A native of Oldham, Greater Manchester England, Ricky Whittle’s credits include The 100, ABOUT THE NOVEL AMERICAN GODS Austenland, Hollyoaks, Mistresses, NCIS and Holby City. Whittle is the son of former Royal The 2001 novel has been translated into over 30 languages and Air Force serviceman Harry Whittle and grew up earned numerous accolades including Hugo, Nebula and Bram travelling around the world. A keen sportsman, Stoker awards for Best Novel. The plot posits a war brewing Whittle represented England and the United between old and new gods: the traditional gods of biblical and Kingdom at youth level in football and rugby. mythological roots from around the world are steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and travelling partner to Mr Wednesday, a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.
10 BCE AND ENEX JOIN FORCES BCE / Enex
BCE has just installed a new HD technical infrastructure and a Media Asset Management (MAM), Editorial and Playout platform for Enex, the international news provider. Luxembourg – 3 February 2016
The new system was launched officially on 14 January 2016 following a soft launch at the end of 2015. The heart of the new platform is an advanced News Media Asset Management (MAM). Completely developed by BCE, the MAM features library content management tools and advanced automation.
The intuitive graphic user interface is tailor-made for Enex technical and editorial staff and can be accessed by Enex staff in the three continents in which the organisation currently operates offices. The production environment also comes with an integrated editing tool.
Christos Schizas, Deputy Managing Director of Enex, says: “This project represents the most important investment decision in the recent history of Enex and required a long investigation From left to right: Terence Jarosz (Enex), Léa Krieger (BCE), Sven Weisen (BCE), period and deep discussions Julian Neundorf (BCE), Tobias Matzat (BCE), Daniel Resslinger (BCE), Sascha Quillet, with our key members. We are Steve Heiles (BCE) and Christos Schizas (Enex) very happy to have opted for the BCE proposal and very excited with the final result. What has started as a purely technical upgrade from SD to HD has resulted in developing an innovative media management and editorial platform. It is the platform that automates a large part of our daily work and lets our staff focus on value and service for our members. At the same time, it is a solid base that provides enormous flexibility for the future and can grow with Enex. Finally by combining industry best practices, open source software and BCE custom solutions we have managed to keep the overall investment at low levels, in line with our goal for flexibility and efficiency.”
11 WINTER IS COMING AND SO IS THE CAMPAIGN! RTL II
RTL II has launched a comprehensive marketing campaign for the free-TV premiere of the fifth season of Game of Thrones on 12 February 2016. Germany – 4 February 2016
In addition to out-of-home advertising in 15 German cities, the campaign also includes trailers produced in-house for digital outdoor advertising spaces in Germany.
With Game of Thrones protagonist Tyrion Lannister sailing southwards, the adapted advertising theme signals big changes in the series. There is also wide coverage in many national printed publications, such as Bild, Gala, Focus, InTouch and TV Movie.
Alongside advertising in target online publications, Edgar Freecards are being used to advertise the series launch in over 2,500 food outlets. Ad with Tyrion Lannister The rigid plastic cards can be used as ice scrapers and have the slogan “Better cold than dead” on them. National cinema advertising and Radio Energy ad spots complete the package.
Carlos Zamorano, Director of Marketing and Communications at RTL II, says: “We have established Game of Thrones – one of the most successful series in the world – as a powerful programme brand at RTL II. A premium series deserving premium marketing: our creative campaign gives us and our advertising customers maximum exposure for the new series of Game of Thrones.” ©HBO Enterprises – All rights reserved ©HBO Enterprises –
Scene from Game of Thrones
12 On top down under
On Saturday 30 January 2016, season ten of RTL Television’s iconic reality show Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! (I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!) crowned Menderes Bagci as the new king of the jungle, after he won 81.11 per cent of viewers’ votes.
On average 8.60 million viewers watched the grand finale broadcast from Australia, peaking at 9.23 million viewers. In the target group, the audience share totalled 43.3 per cent, equivalent to 6.72 million viewers.
The success was replicated online as well: 20.3 million video views were achieved on Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland online platforms and 2.3 million interactions were generated by comments, likes, shares and tweets. ©RTL Television / Stefan Menne Television ©RTL SHORT NEWS
Quit your job and other news Original Production
In advance of appearing at the Realscreen Summit, Original Productions CEO and Executive Producer Philip D. Segal spoke to Realscreen about the company’s upcoming series, including Quit Your Day Job and Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove. Read more here. North America – 29 January 2016
Television in your pocket RTL Belgium
Customers of Belgian operator Allo RTL can now watch RTL-TVI, Club RTL and Plug RTL for free on their smartphone or tablet. Belgium – 2 February 2016
Second to none RTL Televizija
On 31 January 2016, RTL Televizija broadcast the match Croatia- Norway for third place in the European Men’s Handball Championship. Croatia’s victory attracted 50.16 per cent of viewers and was the most watched programme on all TV channels in Croatia. Croatia – 2 February 2016
Now via satellite RTL Z
Starting in February 2016, the Dutch channel RTL Z is also available via CanalDigitaal (Channel 13) – and thus also via satellite. All subscribers to a BasisHD package or more comprehensive package can watch the channel on CanalDigitaal. The Netherlands – 3 February 2016
Conquering new heights FremanteMedia International
FremantleMedia International (FMI) has extended its relationship with one of the UK’s leading independent creative forces, Arrow Media, having acquired international distribution rights to two brand new documentary series: Operation Burma and Nightmare on Everest. United Kingdom – 4 February 2016
14 PEOPLE THORSTEN DEGEN TO STRENGTHEN UFA’S MANAGEMENT TEAM
UFA
Germany – 29 January 2016
UFA’s management team is to be strengthened by the Since October 2005 he has been the company’s Chief appointment of Thorsten Degen, hitherto COO/CFO at Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer and deputy CEO. UFA Serial Drama, as its COO. In spring 2016, Degen will In addition, in his capacity as a Producer and Managing also take over extensive duties from departing CFO Martin Director he runs the business activities of the company’s Licher. Hungarian subsidiary UFA Magyarorzszág, which has enjoyed great success since 1997 with the daily soap Nico Hofmann, Co-CEO UFA, says: “For a long time Barátok Közt (Among Friends). now, Thorsten Degen has been a driving force behind the modernisation and optimisation of key areas of UFA Serial Drama. In recent years I’ve come to know and appreciate him as a shrewd and thoughtful strategist. I’m delighted that the entire company will now be able to benefit from his extensive experience and wide-ranging expertise and personally look forward to leading UFA to a successful future together with him and Wolf Bauer.”
Wolf Bauer, Co-CEO UFA, says: “I’m very thankful that such a key post will be changing hands so smoothly, guaranteeing much-needed continuity. I respect the decision taken by Martin Licher to retire after what has been a long and successful career. In April 2016, he will have served as UFA’s CFO for 13 years. In that capacity, his strategic know-how, detailed specialist knowledge in a huge range of areas and tremendous, unwavering Thorsten Degen commitment over many years have left a lasting mark on the company. I’d like to express my admiration and deep gratitude to Martin for being a great colleague and making such an energetic contribution over the past 23 years.”
Born in Hamburg, Thorsten Degen studied business engineering at TU Berlin. His first job was as a controller in the Electronic Media division of Bertelsmann AG’s central staff. After switching to the Controlling department of UFA Holding in Hamburg, where he focussed on film and sports rights and TV production, Degen first rose to head that department, then took over the commercial management of UFA Serial Drama (at the time still called GrundyUFA) in Potsdam-Babelsberg.
Martin Licher
15 More about Backstage
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