Maintaining Momentum Mark White Takes Over As Interim-CEO of Five
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week 19 the RTL Group intranet Newsletter 8 May 2008 Maintaining Momentum Mark White takes over as Interim-CEO of Five Luxembourg RTL Group with solid EBITA growth in the first quarter of 2008 Germany Acts, chartbreakers and a party atmosphere France M6 purchases a 100 per cent stake in the Cyréalis Group North America Virtual auditions for America’s Got Talent the Mo COVER: Mark White, interim CEO of Five. Luxembourg 2 week 19 the RTL Group intranet “Positive people are the most creative” Mark White is up to maintain Five’s recent progress. In Backstage he gives a brief outlook. United Kingdom - 30 April 2008 Mark White, a man who has been with the were around 6 million enabled homes receiving channel from the very beginning, is Interim- a maximum of 60 channels. Today the figures CEO of Five. White joined Five in 1996, long have increased to almost 22 million homes, before the channel went on-air in March 1997. with up to 400 stations to watch. Holding share He was a key member of the launch team is a massive achievement for a terrestrial which ensured that Five was fully sold from Day broadcaster, hence the growth of the ‘channel One. So Mark White knows the channel like the families’. We need to keep our core channel back of his hand and has witnessed all its ups front-of-mind, while generating growth through and downs. targeted digital extensions. Since February, Five’s audience is up 1.8 per Will there be any strategic changes within cent year on year – the only terrestrial channel the next few weeks? to increase its audience during this time. I think a period of comparative stability might Including its digital channels, Five is up 3.3 per be a good idea! Naturally I’ll be talking at length cent year on year. Mark White’s task will be to to my fellow directors but to answer the ques- maintain this development for Five until Dawn tion, I don’t foresee any major structural chan- Airey, the broadcaster’s new CEO and ges in the immediate future and it’ll be very Chairman, arrives. In Backstage, Mark White much ‘business as usual’ at Long Acre. Having gives a brief recap of the channel’s history and said that, there are a number of key strategic an outlook on its future. initiatives already in place and I will ensure that these are implemented. You joined Five back in 1996, and were part of the team from the very beginning. In How would you describe your personal retrospect, how would you describe the management style? development of the channel? Collaborative and consultative, I hope. I listen I actually joined in April 1996, a full year before and I talk. My core sales management team we went on air. In fact I was the 18th Channel 5 has been together for well over a decade. I employee. In many ways today’s Five bears lit- encourage continuity, totally embrace the tle resemblance to the station that launched ‘team’ concept and believe in playing to indivi- with the Spice Girls (remember them?) perfor- dual strengths. People are the heart and soul of ming Give Me 5 on Easter Sunday 1997. And any business. If you trust and believe in them, yet I’d like to think that the spirit which under- they’ll trust and believe in you. Happy, positive pinned the channel then is still very much alive people are the most creative and productive. I today. This remains a great place to work, wit- see it as my job to create a working environ- ness the numbers who have returned to Five ment in which everyone is able and equipped following spells with other broadcasters, or to perform to their optimum level. those who simply speak positively about the channel from the outside. It goes without saying that I’m enormously proud of what we’ve created at Five. Nobody will ever again Mark White launch a UK channel which, from a standing Prior to joining Five, Mark White worked start, takes 5 per cent of all national viewing - for Thames Television and the satellite within two years. broadcaster UK Gold, where he held the position of Sales Controller. He was Now, in 2008, what are the challenges the appointed Deputy Sales Director at Five channel faces? in 2000. In March 2004 he became When we launched, the multi-channel proposi- Executive Director of Sales. tion was just beginning to gain strength. There 3 week 19 the RTL Group intranet Changes on Five’s management team On 1 May, RTL Group announced that Dawn broadcasting career as a management trainee Airey (47), currently Director of Global Content for Central TV in 1985. In 1989 she became at ITV, has been appointed Chairman and Chief Director of Programme Planning at Central and Executive Officer (CEO) of Five, effective 1 May was appointed to the Central broadcasting 2009 at latest. Dawn will take over from Jane board. In 1993 she moved to the ITV Network Lighting who resigned with effect from 2 May Centre as Controller of Children’s and Daytime 2008, due to differing views on the strategic Programmes and in 1994 moved to Channel 4 direction of the company. In the meantime to become Controller of Arts and Mark White, Executive Director of Sales so far, Entertainment. In 1996 she was appointed will lead the channel as Interim-CEO. On 2 May, Director of Programmes for Channel Five and the Board of Five announced that Lisa Opie was promoted to Chief Executive in 2000. In had also resigned as managing director 2003 she was appointed Managing Director content with immediate effect. Sky Networks and was responsible for all of Sky’s wholly owned channels (excluding sport). Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of RTL Group, said: “Dawn In 2006 she was made Managing Director Airey is one of the most experienced TV execu- Channels and Services with responsibility for all tives of her generation. She has held senior third party channels, joint ventures and networ- roles in all the commercial terrestrial broadcas- ked media. In 2007 she joined ITV as Director of ters as well as BSkyB. She has a perfect Global Content and in 2008 she became mem- understanding of programmes, audiences, ber of the Board of ITV. advertisers, the international market and plat- forms.” Zeiler continued: “Dawn Airey will lead On 2 May, Mark White, who was Executive Five into the next phase of its development. Director of Sales so far, has been appointed She will guarantee that Five will be a vitalised, Interim-CEO of Five. His task will be to keep the entertaining and raucous broadcaster that can- performance of Five and increase the market not be ignored, also in the period after digital share of the digital channels until Dawn Airey switchover. I am delighted that we could per- arrives. suade her to take the helm at Five and that she will be part of our management team of RTL Gerhard Zeiler said: “We have a great program- Group.” me team and they have delivered good results during the first part of the year. During the tran- Dawn Airey is to return to Five as Chairman and sition period, I will be working closely with them CEO of the broadcaster she joined in 1997 as and with Mark White to ensure that we move launch Director of Programmes. She began her forward.” Jane Lighting Dawn Airey 4 week 19 the RTL Group intranet RTL Group with solid EBITA growth in the first quarter of 2008 RTL Group had a good start to the year as reported EBITA was up 8.7 per cent to EUR 188 million in the first quarter. Luxembourg - 7 May 2008 The increase of the reported EBITA is mainly • FremantleMedia had No. 1 shows on all major driven by the performance of Mediengruppe UK channels. American Idol (Fox) was again the RTL Deutschland. Reported Group revenue most watched primetime show in the US and was down 2.0 per cent compared to the first reaches 7.5 million viewers more than its clo- quarter last year to EUR 1,336 million mainly sest competitor. due to lower revenues in the UK and France and also due to the strong Euro. The reported • Five in the UK reports growing audience EBITA margin improved to 14.1 per cent main- share since mid February 2008 with a signifi- ly due to continued cost discipline. The net cant contribution from popular Australian cash position amounted to EUR 1,240 million drama Neighbours. with an operating cash conversion of 101 per cent. • The French radio family goes from strength to strength: the flagship station RTL Radio was The net TV advertising markets in Germany, again the clear market leader in all ratings crite- Belgium and the Netherlands all grew in the ria in the first 2008 Médiamétrie survey first quarter of 2008 whilst the French and the (January to March) UK TV advertising markets were down. • RTL Group increased its stake in Grupo The outlook for the full year 2008 remains Antena 3 to just over 20 per cent. unchanged: with regard to advertising sales, RTL Group has – despite the current economic • On the Internet RTL Group has comprehensi- climate – no reason to be pessimistic. ve and rapidly growing catch-up TV services in Germany (RTLnow.de), France (M6replay.fr) The main developments in the operational busi- and the Netherlands (RTLgemist.nl). Five in the nesses of RTL Group in the first quarter of 2008 UK is going to launch a revamped video on were: demand service in the course of 2008.