week 7 the RTL Group intranet Newsletter Neighbours moves Lisa Opie about moving Neighbours from BBC 1 to Five Belgium Cohabitation Belgian style Germany Five questions about Das perfekte Dinner France M6 rolls out a new information magazine United Kingdom Series on contemporary folk music People Chris Kerwin and Scott Jeffrey, Five Digital Media COVER: Neighbours marketing campaign week 7 the RTL Group intranet “Many of us have grown up with it” This Monday, Five successfully started airing the popular Australian drama Neighbours that was previously broadcast on BBC 1. United Kingdom - 12 February 2008 The first evening episodes of Neighbours were into the bush and even the odd dream sequen- watched by more than 2 million viewers, giving ce, Neighbours has always been based around Five an average audience share of more than a set of comforting, recognisable characters. 13 per cent at that time, way above the chan- nel’s average. A Spokesman of Five described Upcoming storylines on the show see the trou- this as “a fantastic result, beyond our expecta- bled teenager Ringo Brown, played by Sam tions”. BBC Online wrote: “Neighbours holds Clark, developing an eating disorder. Pregnant audience on Five”. Carmelia Cammeniti, portrayed by Natalie Blair, lays her heart on the line when she tells the The Australian daily soap Neighbours explores father of her child, Oliver Barnes (David Hoflin), the lives and relationships of the residents of how she feels. Also Libby Kennedy (Kym Ramsay Street in the fictional community of Valentine) makes a surprising return and Susan Erinsborough (the name being an anagram of fights to clear her name after being involved in Neighbours plus an additional o and r). The first a hit-and-run accident, though doubt is cast on episode was broadcast in March 1985 and it is her defence when Karl is forced to testify that Australia’s longest-running TV series so far. the incident may have been her fault. Having been sold to 57 countries it is also one of the country's most successful media Several international stars, including Kylie exports. Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Holly Valance and Delta Groodrem, and now world-famous Besides portraying countless weddings, divor- actors, like Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe, ces, deaths, fights, fires, plane crashes, car count Neighbours among their very first appea- accidents, kidnappings, ill-advised forays out rances. Neighbours marketing campaign 2 week 7 the RTL Group intranet Having run on the BBC since 1986, Neighbours has now found a new home on Five, where it will be aired on week- days at 13.45 and 17.30 and shown on Five Life at 9.00 and 19.00. On this occasion Backstage spoke to Lisa Opie, Five's Managing Director Content. What makes the Neighbours deal so special for Five? Neighbours is a much-loved program- me with an established and loyal follo- wing. Its many fans will have more opportunities to see it – since it will be aired twice a day on Five and Five Life, with omnibus editions screened on Five and Five Life every weekend. We have also invested in its promotion, both on- air and off-air. We are delighted to have Neighbours secured and intend to che- Lisa Opie, Managing Director for Content of Five rish it. What makes Neighbours such a success What predictions do you have regarding the around the world? show’s ratings? Many of us have grown up with it. We love the Whilst we’re aware that for historical reasons characters and storylines and it's beautifully we're unlikely to attract the same audiences made. It also has the twin appeal of being that the show generated on BBC 1, we’re very vibrant and modern for younger audiences, confident that Neighbours will be a hit in the while dishing up a healthy dose of nostalgia for ratings within our frame of reference. older viewers. On top of this, the series has a consistently optimistic outlook, which is per- Why do you broadcast each episode twice a fectly in tune with Five's brand values. day? We're retaining the traditional slots the show Neighbours is already a very popular brand had on the BBC, i.e. airing it twice a day at in the UK. How are you going to exploit that 13.45 and 17.30, since viewers are used to brand for Five? watching it at these times and we wanted to We’ve already invested heavily in its promotion, cause as little disruption as we could. both in PR terms and in on- and off-air marke- ting and will continue to do so. The show will What does Five have lined up for viewers? also play a key role in Five Life’s programme We’re also really excited about the launch of schedule. It is, and will be treated as, part of the the new-look Five News with one of Britain’s Five family. most popular news readers, Natasha Kaplinsky, this month. Furthermore, we’ve got Will the change of broadcaster affect the some great entertainment and factual series behaviour of the programme’s viewers? lined up, including another travel programme That remains to be seen, but the response from with Paul Merton, this time in India, and a fan- fans on forums and in the press has been extre- tastic new series of Hotel Inspector. mely positive. Viewers have told us that they trust Five to provide ‘a good home’ for their favourite show. 3 week 7 the RTL Group intranet Cohabitation Belgian style Back in September 2007, the radio station Bel RTL launched its interactive Vivrensemble? (LiveTogether?) campaign, now a listener has been awarded by the Prince Philippe Fund. Belgium - 13 February 2008 The campaign was offering listeners a great The Fund has just awarded funds to three win- opportunity to vent their views on the future of ning projects, one of them being the idea sub- Belgium and either show how strongly attached mitted by Luc Renson from Nandrin. Luc was they are to their country or say why they think it one of the many listeners who were stirred into would be better if the country’s various com- action by Bel RTL’s campaign. In October, Bel munities ran their affairs separately and just RTL helped him put the finishing touches to his lived side by side. project, which will entail organising a relay race across Belgium’s 10 provinces. After success- By the time the campaign ended, the advoca- fully putting the case for his project to the tes of a united Belgium were in the majority. Fund’s jury, this proud Bel RTL listener has now Invariably, those who expressed their views been awarded EUR 2,000 to help turn his idea highlighted the other side’s lack of knowledge. into a reality. For this reason, Bel RTL decided to take part in a call for tenders issued by the Prince Philippe Bel RTL will definitely be monitoring the pro- Fund. The specifications for projects submitted gress made by this listener inspired by the need in response to the call for tenders were to bring Belgium’s communities closer toge- straightforward and entirely in keeping with ther. Bel RTL’s Vivrensemble? campaign: They had to help keep the dialogue going between Belgium’s various communities, in other words help Walloons get to know Flemings better, and vice-versa. Vivrensemble? marketing campaign 4 week 7 the RTL Group intranet Questions about Das perfekte Dinner On 13 February, Vox did broadcast the 500th episode of its popular cooking format. This gives us a great excuse to nose around behind the scenes and answer the questions most frequently asked about the show. Das Perfekte Dinner Germany - 12 February 2008 How many towns and cities has Das perfek- Which was the most unusual dish served te Dinner already visited? up? So far dinner parties have been held in 37 dif- Benjamin Craig, who’s a cultural attaché at the ferent towns and cities across Germany. There Australian Embassy in Berlin, served crocodile was also one special edition in Majorca. The to his guests. most frequent venue has been Cologne, which has served as a setting for 20 episodes of the Which episode did best in the ratings? programme. On 9 October 2007, the show attained a market share of 20.9 per cent in the 14-49 target Who does more cooking: men or women? group. Across all age groups it was watched by It’s pretty evenly balanced so far, with 240 men a total audience of 3.49 million viewers, equiva- and 260 women. lent to a market share of 14 per cent. The show’s average market share for the year 2007 Are the contestants allowed to cook what was 16.9 per cent among 14- to 49-year-old they want? viewers and 11.9 per cent overall. The contestants choose the menu to suit their personal taste, though the programme makers Vox airs Das Perfekte Dinner at 19.00 from do keep an eye on variety. If chocolate mousse Monday to Friday. On the 500th programme, to was served up three times in a row, the partici- be broadcast on Wednesday, 13 February, pants and viewers would get bored. Benjamin from Cologne will surprise his guests by serving up homemade pasta. A French So far filet of beef has been very popular, as adaptation of Das Perfekte Dinner made its have rosemary potatoes. Starters frequently debut on M6 on 11 February at 18.05. feature seafood, and rocket and lamb’s lettuce are also ‘in’ at the moment.