M6 and Its Plan to Conquer Access Primetime

week 36 the RTL Group intranet

Newsletter M6 and its plan to conquer access primetime

Interview with Bibiane Godfroid

Belgium Bel RTL: Simply can't stop innovating Germany German Television Awards 2007: 26 nominations for RTL Group companies France The Rugby World Cup on RTL Hungary RTL Klub diversifies further

People IP Deutschland: Dirk Bruns new Head of Marketing for N-TV week 36 the RTL Group intranet

M6 and its plan to conquer access primetime Backstage interviewed Programming Director of M6 Bibiane Godfroid on the channels new programming strategy. Bibiane Godfroid, DIrectrice Générale des programmes de M6 France - 6 September 2007

When the M6 management team presented the great deal in evening programming (during pri- new schedule for the 2007-2008 season last metime and the second part of the evening) by week, Programming Director Bibiane Godfroid putting together an ambitious schedule of pro- said that this season, “every effort will be made grammes and introducing new formats and to boost M6's performance during access pri- new brands such as the lifestyle magazine metime”. With four new shows during access D&CO and the information programme 66 primetime, the top priority on the M6 program- minutes. And our efforts have paid off since ming agenda became very evident. between January and September 2007, we gai- ned almost 100,000 additional viewers — and Here's some background to the story: during M6 is the only major channel to have made the first half of 2007, M6 was the only major gains during this slot! In the new season, the channel in France that managed to increase its major work will be on access primetime. We will audience figures during primetime, despite gro- be focussing on this slot with the launch of new wing competition from digital terrestrial televi- daily programmes such as the game show sion (DTT) channels. However, this strong per- Etes-vous plus fort qu'un élève de 10 ans adap- formance during primetime did not translate ted from the successful Are you smarter than a into an increased audience share for the day as fith grader format in the US. a whole in the main commercial target group of housewives aged under 50. Access primetime Still thinking about the schedule, it's clear did not perform as expected and it did not take that your efforts have focussed on a shake- M6 long to come up with a plan and act. Today, up of the access primetime slot, but what access primetime is a source of major potential about primetime itself? Can we expect for increasing M6's audience figures. major changes here too? Primetime is still a key component of M6's Backstage talked with Bibiane Godfroid about schedule. The programmes which helped carve M6's new programming strategy. out the channel's success are back this season: Capital, Zone Interdite, 66 minutes and We can see from your new schedule that Enquête exclusive in terms of news, then there are no fewer than four new program- drama series — here, M6 is increasingly inves- mes during access primetime. Is M6 under- ting in its own unique style of French drama going a revolution? series such as Les Bleus and La Lance de la Not really a revolution but certainly evolution! destiné. Finally, M6 will also be offering viewers M6 continues to progress year on year. First of the very best in foreign drama series with 15 all, the channel managed to establish itself on brand new series such as Jéricho, Vanished, the French audiovisual scene; it brought with it The Lost Room as well as the news seasons of its own tone and a degree of 'impertinence' and Prison Break, NCIS and Bones. We will also above all innovation to win over a young, fema- continue to take risks by offering new magazi- le public. To build up its audience and become ne formats on subjects in which viewers are a landmark channel for viewers aged under 50, interested with programmes such as Stop au we have continued to work hard while keeping découvert and Maison à vendre. the “M6 spirit” alive. Firstly, we have invested a

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Following this programming revamp, can What role does sport in general and football you tell us how successful you have been in in particular play on a channel like M6? terms of audience share? Have your audien- In terms of image and audience, televised sport ce figures confirmed your strategy has been is a key factor in M6's development: faced with the right one? heightened competition from other media and We are already very pleased with the success other television channels, M6 needs events. of our access primetime game show Etes-vous Even if sport is never profitable — we have for- plus fort qu'un élève de 10 ans which attracted ked out €50 million to broadcast Euro 2008 — 2.5 million viewers and an audience share of it will be a worthwhile expense. It is a great 10.2 per cent among the 4-and-over age group opportunity for M6 — after the World Cup, the when it was first broadcast at 20.10. Since channel owed it to itself to be in on the action then, M6's audience has grown by 800,000 as for this major event and to give it the M6 treat- compared with the average for this slot over the ment. And now we might be broadcasting a past three months, which is an increase of 47 French national team match for the first time! per cent. We consider these results very promising. We are creating a real family slot here with a game that is educational as well as entertaining at a time of day when all the family can be together.

What key factors made you decide against introducing a 30-minute news bulletin at 20.00? The M6 schedule may one day include a news bulletin but we want to take our time to make sure it fits in with the channel's ethos. We are still working on this project but at the moment we belie- ve our time is better spent developing our entertainment offerings and coun- ter-programming. Roland Magdane’s new quiz show started with high ratings.

Next year, M6 will broadcast 15 matches of the Euro 2008.

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Simply can't stop innovating Bel RTL marks its 17th season with a new schedule full of surprises and innovative features for its listeners Bérénice and Mike Belgium - 5 September 2007

The tone was clear right from the start: “Since the leading ratio station serving Brussels and Wallonia was set up 16 years ago (already!), it has never stopped championing innovation in radio. Every season, in an attempt to find things that would enthuse, please and surprise its listeners, the station has come up with some- thing new”, said Bel RTL CEO Jean-Jacques Deleeuw.

This year once again, humour and cheekiness will be the watchwords of programmes hosted by presenters who are very popular with listeners.

Moreover, Bel RTL has decided to bolster its interactivity with listeners via the well-known programme Les Auditeurs ont la Parole (Listeners Have Their Say) and also in the early morning and late evening programmes 7/8 and Bel Soir. Naturally, the magazines Votre ques- tion nous intéresse, Vivre ensemble and L’Essentiel will continue to solicit the views of listeners, who can send text messages to 3323 to respond to news items and to 4343 when they have a hot piece of news to share.

La Dépanneuse, with its incorrigible presenters Mike and Bérénice, will delight listeners from Mondays to Thursdays between 13.10 and 16.00, giving the programme the slight lift it needed. In it, Mike et Béré will come to listeners' aid, e.g. if they don't dare to ask their boss for a day off work, or if they want a reba- te on their next car, or are missing just a single item to complete a collection.

This provides a foretaste of a season that already looks very promising.

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German Television Awards 2007: 26 nominations for RTL Group companies The 2007 German Television Awards will be handed out at the end of September. On Tuesday, the nominations in 21 categories were announced: RTL Television was nominated nine times, Vox twice. The UFA subsidiary Teamworx received no fewer than 14 nominations. Die Flucht (Teamworx) received four nominations. Germany - 5 September 2007

Since 1999, the German Television Awards Nico Hofmann, CEO and Producer for have honoured outstanding achievements in Teamworx, says: “We are proud to have recei- television. The nominations are now in for the ved so many nominations. Once again 2007 Awards; the panel of 11 judges headed by Teamworx is top of the tree among German journalist and author Klaudia Wick selected this production companies when it comes to nomi- year's nominations for the 21 award categories nations for the German Television Awards. I am from some 1,100 programmes. particularly pleased by how well our more radical programmes such as Helen, Fred und Ted RTL Television received nine nominations, have done and that our commitment to new including for Let's Dance with Hape Kerkeling talent seems to be paying off with films such as and Nazan Eckes in the Best Entertainment Rose by Alain Gsponer. Our portfolio now inclu- Programme category, RTL Aktuell in the Best des both major event programmes such as Die News Programme category and Feuertod by Flucht and new talent. I see this diversity pro- Antonia Rados in the Best Reporting category. ving successful for Teamworx in the future.” RTL also has the Best TV Advice Show Personality category in the bag, with nomina- The German Television Awards — created joint- tions for Rach, der Restauranttester, Die Super- ly by RTL, ARD, ZDF and Sat 1 — ceremony Nanny and Raus aus den Schulden. Vox recei- will be held on 29 September 2007 in Cologne ved two nominations in the Best Culinary Show and will be broadcast on RTL from 20.15. This category (naturally!) for the hugely popular Das year's awards ceremony is being organised by perfekte Dinner and Schmeckt nicht, gibt's RTL. nicht.

Seven films by the UFA subsidiary Teamworx received 14 nominations between them. The two-part film Die Flucht produced by Teamworx for ARD and telling the story of the flight of the German populace from East Prussia following the end of the Second World War was the only work to receive four nominations — in the categories Best TV Film, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Costumes and Best Soundtrack.

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Below is a rundown of all the nominations received by RTL Television, Vox and UFA/ Teamworx:

Best TV Film/Multi-Part Film: Best Actress: Die Flucht Nadja Uhl for Nicht alle waren Mörder (ARD/Degeto/BR/WDR/SWR/HR/ARTE/Teamworx Television & (ARD/Degeto SWR/BR/RBB/Teamworx Television & Film Film GmbH/EOS Entertainment GmbH) GmbH/EOS Entertainment GmbH) Rose Best Actor in a Supporting Role: (ARD/BR/SWR/ARTE/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH) Volker Bruch for Nichts ist vergessen (ARD/WDR/Cinecentrum Deutsche Gesellschaft für Film- und Fernsehproduktion mbH) Best Sitcom: and Rose Kinder, Kinder (RTL/BRAINPOOL TV GmbH) (ARD/BR/SWR/ARTE/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH) Mitten im Leben (RTL/Radical Comedy! GmbH) Gabriela Maria Schmeide for Die Flucht (ARD/Degeto/BR/WDR/SWR/HR/ARTE/Teamworx Television & Best Entertainment Programme/ Film GmbH/EOS Entertainment GmbH) Best Presenter: Best Editing: Let's Dance with Hape Kerkeling and Nazan Clara Fabry für Helen, Fred und Ted Eckes (RTL/Granada Produktion für Film und Fernsehen GmbH) (ARD/Degeto/BR/NDR/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH) Dagmar Lichius für Post Mortem Best Reporting: (RTL/Sony Pictures Film und Fernseh Produktions mbH) Feuertod (RTL) Best Soundtrack: Best News Programme: Enjott Schneider for Die Flucht (RTL) RTL aktuell (ARD/Degeto/BR/WDR/SWR/HR/ARTE/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH/EOS Entertainment GmbH) Open category (format): and Nicht alle waren Mörder Best Culinary Show (ARD/Degeto/SWR/BR/EOS Entertainment GmbH/World Sales Das perfekte Dinner Beta Film/RBB/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH) Ralf Wienrich for Bella Block: Blackout (VOX/Granada Produktion für Film und Fernsehen GmbH) (ZDF/UFA Fernsehproduktion GmbH) Schmeckt nicht, gibt's nicht and Das Geheimnis im Moor (VOX/MME Me, Myself & Eye Entertainment AG) (ZDF/Telefilm Saar GmbH)

Best Director: Best Costumes: Alain Gsponer for Rose Knut Loewe and Wiebke Kratz for Die Flucht (ARD/BR/SWR/ARTE/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH) (ARD/Degeto/BR/WDR/SWR/HR/ARTE/Teamworx /EOS Entertainment GmbH) Best Script: and R.I.S.-Die Sprache der Toten Gabriela Sperl and Kathrin Richter for Helen, (Sat.1/Producers at Work GmbH) Fred und Ted Albrecht Konrad and Monica Jacobs for (ARD/Degeto/BR/NDR/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH) Der geheimnisvolle Schatz von Troja (Sat.1/Teamworx) Best Actor: Matthias Koeberlin for Tornado - Der Zorn Open category (personality): des Himmels (ProSieben/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH) Best TV Advice Show Personality: Friedrich von Thun for Der falsche Tod Christian Rach for Rach, der (ZDF/Teamworx Television & Film GmbH) Restauranttester (RTL/Eyeworks Deutschland GmbH) Katharina Saalfrank for Die Super Nanny (RTL/Tresor TV Produktions GmbH) Peter Zwegat for Raus aus den Schulden (RTL/probono Fernsehproduktion GmbH)

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TV market in August: Vox attained new ratings record August marked 15 straight years at the top for RTL Television, which has now been the number one channel for 14- to 49-year-old viewers for 180 months in succession. Meanwhile, sister channel Vox beat its previous audience record. Dr. House Germany - 3 September 2007

With a market share of 15.3 per cent in August, Break, is gaining an ever larger following, with RTL Television was once again well ahead of its up to 19.3 per cent of 14- to 49-year-olds main rivals ProSieben (11.5 per cent) and Sat.1 tuning in to watch the exciting drama series. (10.6 per cent). Vox came in fourth place, with an audience share of 8.1 per cent, making During access prime time, RTL achieved seve- August 2007 the channel's successful TV ral records in August, with both its daily soaps month ever. The remaining places were occu- Unter Uns and Alles was zählt and also the star pied by ARD (7.6 per cent), RTL II (6.7 per cent) magazine Exclusiv achieving their best average and ZDF (6.1 per cent). monthly market share in 2007.

Since August 2006, RTL's German family of Punkt 12 was not only once again the most channels has clearly made headway among successful midday news broadcast on German young viewers. RTL Television, Vox, RTL II, TV, but also celebrated its 15th birthday, with Super RTL and N-TV achieved a combined Katja Burkard simultaneously celebrating 10 market share of 33.6 per cent, 1.3 percentage years as the show's presenter. With market points up on the same month the previous year. shares of 20.3 per cent among young viewers, By comparison, the ProSiebenSat1 family lost and 20.4 per cent overall, RTL Aktuell also sco- 1.8 percentage points, managing a market red its highest average ratings of this year. share of 28.7 per cent among 14- to 49- year-olds (down from 30.5 per cent in August 2006).

On RTL Television Hugh Laurie was a big draw as Dr House, attracting up to 29.2 per cent of young viewers. Meanwhile, another US series, Prison

Prison Break

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RTL restructures its afternoon schedule RTL Television's new daytime schedule in Germany will be launched on 15 October 2007 and will set out to provide more news, service and life counselling. Punkt 12: Katja Burkard, Nazan Eckes Germany - 31 August 2007

In RTL's new afternoon schedule, the midday “This will mark the steady continuation of RTL's magazine Punkt 12 will offer a full two hours of hit coaching formats during the daytime”, claimed news on weekdays. It will be more service-orien- Tom Sänger, RTL's head of entertainment. ted and offer more background information. Previously the programme had been just one hour A powerful new season of the successful detecti- long. ve show Staatsanwalt Posch will follow in the show's usual 16.00 slot. “In this way we are fulfilling the desire frequently voiced by our viewers for more extensive midday RTL Head of Entertainment Tom Sänger conti- information programmes”, said RTL Editor-in- nued: “This constitutes the first phase in a fairly Chief Peter Kloeppel. “For our viewers, Punkt 12 extensive renewal of RTL's daytime programmes. with Katja Burkard has become a lunchtime fixtu- As with the restructuring of our early evening pro- re and thus a particularly strong brand”, he grammes, the aim we're pursuing is to establish added, before concluding: “We'll be responding programmes that will prove successful in the long to this in the autumn and will thus steadily be run and a new afternoon schedule. We intend to expanding our midday focus on information”. take whatever time we need to achieve this”.

The Oliver Geissen Show will start at 14.00, featuring a new concept and a new-look studio. Some of the topics it covers will be linked to the RTL magazines in the new schedule. That show will then be followed at 15.00 by the new coaching format Familienhilfe mit Herz, in which psychologist Susan Akel goes to families to help them solve problems to do with raising kids, school and partner- ships.

Familienhilfe mit Herz: Susan Akel

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The Rugby World Cup on RTL in France Leading French radio station RTL is gearing up for some major rugby action at the sport's top event of the year. Patrick Sébastien France - 3 September 2007

From 7 September to 20 October, RTL will featuring the French team, and various inter- become the French team's biggest supporter, views and discussions. cheering on Les Bleus and keeping tabs on them throughout the Rugby World Cup. RTL's On 7 September, the first day of the tourna- daily programme On refait le Monde Ovale ment, RTL will be entitled A fond derrière les broadcast between 20.00 and 20.30 (and from bleus! (Backing the Blues to the hilt). This histo- 19.30 to 20.00 on Saturdays), will keep its liste- ric day will be marked by special guest appea- ners up to date with daily news on the mem- rances, reports and programmes, culminating bers of the French XV. at 21.00 in full live coverage of the game featuring the French team led by Bernard Laporte. In fact, during the tournament the radio station Listeners whose comments are featured on the will be providing very extensive coverage, programme will receive a limited-edition polo including comment by renowned rugby pun- shirt. dits, daily features, full coverage of matches

The rugby experts of RTL: Jean-Michel Rascol, Franck Mesnel, Patrick Sébastien, Pierre Salviac

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RTL Klub diversifies further The Hungarian television channel RTL Klub has acquired the online store Netpiac. Jaime Cantizano Hungary - 31 August 2007

RTL Klub further is diversifying its portfolio. in the dynamically expanding online book and The television channel and its subsidiary Klub Blu-ray disk retail sector. The price of the trans- Publishing have acquired 100 per cent of the action has not been disclosed. shares in Hungary’s largest internet DVD and book retailer, Netpiac. Dirk Gerkens, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Klub, said: “I'm delighted with this acquisition, Netpiac was founded in 1999 and has one of which is fully in line with our strategy of diversi- the longest histories in domestic online retail. It fying further. This purchase has made us one of was the first online film store in Hungary and is the top 5 DVD publishers and distributors in one of the most well-known e-commerce brand Hungary and expanded our distribution portfo- names, operating via the website netpiac.hu. lio by adding an online store". The company is not just a leading player in the online DVD retail sector, but is also competing

Love in the wilderness… on RTL 5 The Dutch television channel RTL 5 has launched the new exciting weekly reality programme From Alaska With Love this week. Roeland Fernhout Netherlands - 30 August 2007

In this intriguing new format, a dozen young, the 12 young women vying for the attentions of single, Dutch women will date four tough single their Alaskan hunks. males from Alaska, America's least densely populated state, against the backdrop of a Each Alaskan man will be paired up with three stunning wilderness landscape. girls, and after a series of dates, going out together and completing joint assignments, the The men, all spirited rough-diamond types, are four will select just one Dutch sweetheart to single not by choice, but simply owing to a build a life with them in Alaska. shortage of available women among the male- dominated Alaskan population. The 12 women are all prepared to leave the Netherlands if it means finding love. Roeland Fernhout, the show's presenter and “transatlantic matchmaker”, will accompany

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Successful return of M6's information magazines M6's two main information magazines, Capital and Enquête exclusive, got off to a great start when they returned to the small screen this season. France - 4 September 2007

RTL programme highlights even on the move A new service launched by RTL and RTL Mobile for mobile phone users enables viewers to get the latest news about RTL's programme schedule any time and anywhere they want. Germany - 30 August 2007

RTL and Gala commemorate Lady Di together On 31 August 1997 the Princess of Wales died tragically in a car accident in Paris. RTL and the Gruner + Jahr magazine Gala are now teaming up to honour her memory together. Germany - 31 August 2007

RTL Games now to be marketed in the USA, Mexico and Canada In future, game fans on the other side of the Atlantic will also be able to appreciate the quality of new titles issued by RTL Games. Moreover, in future the computer and video games will also all be available Europe-wide. Germany - 3 September 2007

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People Dirk Bruns appointed as Head of Marketing for N-TV at IP Deutschland Dirk Bruns Germany - 6 September 2007

From September, Dirk Bruns, 35, is responsible for Business-to-Business-Marketing for the news channel N-TV at IP Deutschland.

In his new functions as Head of Marketing for N-TV at IP Deutschland, Dirk Bruns will be responsible for the channel's product management as well as sales controlling. He will work with Dorothée Hörrmann, Sales Director for N-TV, and will report directly to Florian Ruckert, Head of Marketing of IP Deutschland.

Bruns graduated in business management and has worked in various functions at IP Deutschland since 2001.

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