20 May 2010

week 20

News Bulletins, Twitter and Debates RTL Nederland is covering the Dutch elections more intense then ever before

Luxembourg United Kingdom RTL Group organises third Britain’s Got Talent app scores “environMINDday” 500,000 downloads

Germany Belgium RTL Interactive revamps RTL Belgium prolongs contract Sport.de with the ‘Red Devils’ week 20 the RTL Group intranet

20 May 2010

week 20

Cover: Montage with the Dutch parliament and Harm Taselaar (Background image: © Markus Bernet)

News Bulletins, Twitter and Debates 2 RTL Nederland is covering the Dutch elections more intense then ever before

Luxembourg United Kingdom RTL Group organises third Britain’s Got Talent app scores environMINDday 500,000 downloads

Germany Belgium RTL Interactive revamps RTL Belgium prolongs contract Sport.de with the ‘Red Devils’ week 20 the RTL Group intranet

Information Firework The Dutch are about to elect a new prime minister. Harm Taselaar explains how RTL Nederland is providing extensive coverage of the event. Harm Taselaar, Editor-in-Chief of RTL Nieuws Netherlands - 20 May 2010

After the Dutch government had split up in Nieman will join Frits Wester, one of the most February due to irreconcilable differences renowned political editors in the Netherlands, in concerning the Afghanistan strategy, the people moderating this debate. of the Netherlands are now called on to elect a new parliament and prime minister in June. RTL The second debate is being hosted in Nederland, a leader in Dutch news broadcasting, partnership with BNR Nieuwsradio, which plans a information firework of political coverage. will also air the debate on radio, as well as The family of channels has organized several Elsevier, a weekly business newspaper, special broadcasts to make sure its viewers and the Financieele Dagblad. Called the Carré are informed about all major processes in the debat, it will be broadcast from the famous Carré lead-up to the elections. theatre in Amsterdam and will see the leaders of the eight major parties debating about the “Our responsibility to inform our viewers about future of the Dutch economy. This will be the everything important going on around the only debate in the run-up to the elections that elections was never in doubt,” explains Harm focuses solely on the future of the Dutch econ- Taselaar, Editor-in-Chief of RTL Nieuws, who is omy and the effects of governmental budget also responsible for the election coverage. RTL cuts on the personal finance of Dutch citizens. Nieuws is one of the leading news providers in The debate will be moderated by Rick Nieman. the Netherlands,and produces 17 news bulletins Afterwards Frits Wester, BNR journalist Bas van for RTL 4, RTL 7 and RTL Z each weekday. Werven, Elsevier columnist Syp Wynia, royal reporter for the Fiancieele Dagblad Job Woudt, In the two and a half weeks leading up to the the BNR Den Haag correspondent Hans elections on 9 June, this already vast news Verbeek, and Roderik van Grieken of the offer will be extended further. Says Taselaar: Nederlands Debat Instituut will discuss the “We have planned a special format called Wat outcome of the debate and analyse what the Kiest Nederland? (How do the Dutch vote?), two politicians said. TV debates, a twitter debate and of course live coverage on Election Day.” “I expect both debates to be intense and very informative for our viewers and for us as a As early as 23 May, RTL 4 will broadcast the first channel,” says Taselaar. “Our main challenge will TV debate, the Premiersdebat (Prime Minister Debate). This will be broadcast live from De Rode Hoed in Amsterdam and will feature Jan Peter Balkenende, Job Cohen, Mark Rutte and Geert Wilders discussing the political issues the next prime minister will have to deal with. “This debate is mainly about who will become the next prime minister,” says Harm Taselaar. Rick How do the Dutch vote? 3 week 20 the RTL Group intranet

follow Frits Wester on Twitter.com/ fritswester

Rick Nieman, Presenter of RTL Nieuws Frits Wester, Political Expert for RTL Nederland be providing security at the event. Geert Wilders, Finally, RTL Nieuws will be covering Election Day who is – let’s say – quite controversial, will be itself as well providing extensive live broadcasts, taking part in both of the debates, so we need prognosis and analysis of the results on 9 June. to have a high level of security, which means thorough screening for weapons and bombs.”

For twelve working days starting 24 May, RTL Nederland’s special election coverage: RTL Nederland will air a half-hour daily election special at 22:30. This special report will serve 23 May as a countdown to the elections, covering all Premieresdebat – RTL 4 – 20:00 the topics that may arise in the last days prior 24 May to 8 June to the voting. It will be presented by the news Start of the daily programme Wat Kiest Nederland anchor Rick Nieman and the political editor Frits RTL 4 Wester. “This special will be a 30-minute mix each working day at 22:30 of information, talk and entertainment,” Harm Taselaar says. “We will cover anything 26 May Carré debat – RTL 4 – 20:00 remarkable, interesting or funny going on in the Netherlands’s politics.” 2 June RTL Nieuws Twitterdebat – RTL 4 – 20:00 On the website WatKiestNederland.nl, RTL Nieuws offers extensive information about 9 June – Election Day Live broadcast with Rick Nieman and Frits Wester the different parties as well as current events RTL 4 – all evening and a political ‘matchmaker’ tool to help users with their voting decisions. RTL Nieuws has been one of the most influential On 2 June, RTL Nederland presents a and important news media of the Netherlands, premiere: RTL Nieuws Twitterdebat is the first since the start of RTL 4 in 1989. With a work- ever twitter debate regarding national elections. force of more than 125 journalists, editors and For one-and-a-half hours Frits Wester, who has producers, it produces 17 daily news bulletins for a variety of outlets including RTL 4, RTL Z 41,000 followers on Twitter, will host a special (business news channel on RTL 7) and debate on topics raised by twitter users which RTLNieuws.nl. The daily evening bulletin at may include security, integration, environment 19:30 (RTL 4) attracts an average of over a and the pockets of citizens. “The social media million viewers, representing a market share occupy an increasingly prominent place. This of more than 20 percent in RTL 4’s main target audience of shoppers aged 20 to 49. debate is a special way for our viewers to get in touch with politicians. Frits’s vast knowledge of politics and the number of people that follow him on Twitter make him the perfect host for this debate,” says Harm Taselaar. 4 week 20 the RTL Group intranet

How to commute eco-friendly On 1 June, RTL Group will host its third “environMINDday” featuring activities related to the topic of mobility. Luxembourg - 20 May 2010

Environment days have become a tradition at RTL Group. A few Profit Centres, including Talkback Thames in the UK and RTL Belgium have already organised their own ‘Earth Days’. And RTL Group has already organised two “environMINDdays” at the Luxembourg site. They all share a common purpose: building awareness among employees for the dangers of climate change and appropriate measures to protect the environment – true to the motto “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.” This year, the third “environMIND- day” will take place as part of Bertelsmann’s ‘Be Green’ programme, which will involve various Bertelsmann companies organising climate-pro- tection awareness days just a few days before the UN’s World Environment Day on 5 June.

This year’s “environMINDday” is dedicated to the topic of mobility, and especially with the is- sue of commuting to work, which is a special one in Luxembourg, given for example the high number of trans-border commuters and the frag- mented public transport system. Initiatives like ‘Bike to work’ and ‘No car today’ encourage all employees to leave their cars at home on that day and to ride their bikes up on Kirchberg, where RTL Group has its Corporate Centre. There’s even a prize for the most environmentally friendly For more information see commuter. Because bicycles are coming to play environMIND an ever more important role in mobility, RTL on Backstage Group has established a small fleet of company bicycles with electric motors for its employees in Luxembourg, for covering short distances in this less-than-level city. Employees with a longer commute from Belgium, France or Germany, will receive information about discounts on public transportation and possibilities for ride-sharing carpools. In addition to the presentation of the electric bikes and vehicles, the day will be round- ed off – as in the past – with ecologically sound dishes at the company restaurant. Last not least, RTL Group Profit Centres in the UK (Fremantle- Media, Five), Netherlands (RTL Nederland), France (RTL Radio France) and Belgium (RTL Belgium) also organise awareness-building environmental activities.

5 week 20 the RTL Group intranet

More live video streams The RTL Interactive-produced Sport.de sites have unveiled a new look just in time for the final stretch of preparations for the Fifa Football World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Germany - 20 May 2010

check out www.sport.de

The startpage now greets sports fans with a and ‘Mobil’. A new ‘electronic guide to sport horizontal or vertical feature photo depending events’ shows users when the next sporting on the news item. This means that for the first events will be taking place and indicates ongoing time, athletes or sporting scenes can be shown events, with live coverage, in yellow. in a vertical format. The Sport.de logo is now in yellow, and serves as a label for all live content For the first time, the fans will be able to watch all on the new sites. Fifa Football World Cup matches broadcast on RTL Television, as live video streams on Sport. At the same time, Sport.de is launching its new de. A big World Cup special features extensive mobile portal (mobil.sport.de), optimised for use news, match reports, interviews and analyses, with mobile communication devices. Live tickers as well as portraits of the various teams and and live content tying in to numerous sporting stars and numerous videos from South Africa. events can now be accessed on the go, along with breaking news and backgrounders on all Matthias Büchs, Head of the Online / Mobile / the major sports. Teletext department at RTL Interactive, says: “The relaunch augments the integration of our The navigation now focuses on the relevant sports-related video content from Mediengruppe sports and sporting events, and users can RTL Deutschland. By raising the bar for user also use a meta-navigation tool to access their friendliness, we hope to attract even more users content under ‘Sport Live’, ‘Videos’, ‘Services’, to our portal.”

6 week 20 the RTL Group intranet

A new start for The X Factor FremantleMedia Australia is going to produce a revamped version of the British talent show The X Factor for the Australian Network Seven. Australia - 18 May 2010

Seven has stitched together an all-star The X Factor is open to singers of all ages – judging panel for the show, comprised of either solo performers or groups. Once through radio moderator Kyle Sandilands, Australian the final audition process, the four judges will pop stars Natalie Imbruglia and Guy Sebastian, take on mentoring roles, as the performers who won Australian Idol in 2003, and former are split into categories – Boys under 25, Girls Boyzone singer Ronan Keating. Sandilands under 25, the over 25s and the Groups. This will has also been seen as a judge on Australia’s Got culminate with a huge weekly live show, where Talent, which also airs on Seven. the singers will battle it out in front of the judges and the Australian public. The ultimate winner FremantleMedia Australia’s CEO Ian Hogg will be rewarded with a recording contract with described The X-Factor as a “phenomenally Sony Music Australia. successful format. Our creative team is determined to make this show something very The Network Ten aired a version of the format in special, a programme that will resonate deeply 2005, hosted by Daniel MacPherson. Despite a with Australian audiences.” promising start, ratings declined and a second series was not commissioned. The revamped X-Factor will launch on Seven later this year. Auditions will begin this month in Perth and travel around the country.

Boosting interactivity Talkback Thames Digital’s Britain’s Got Talent iPhone app has gained more than 500,000 downloads. Britain’s Got Talent on iPhone United Kingdom - 19 May 2010

Launched in mid April by Talkback Thames For Robert Marsh, Head of Talkback Thames Digital, the Britain’s Got Talent iPhone app Digital, it was vital to extend relevant live shows delivers the best Got Talent content in a handy, onto digital platforms to boost interactivity. “We’re pocket-sized format with videos, news and photo testing the appetite now to see how big the galleries as well as the infamous ‘X’ buzzer opportunity is. We’ve been pleasantly sound are all configured for the iPhone. Talkback surprised by the number of downloads and Thames Digital plans to build on these engage- real engagement,” he said. ment levels by allowing the fans of the show to send messages via the app to be incorporated To make the app, which was developed by into live ITV2 spin-off show Britain’s Got More the mobile agency MIG, both editorially and Talent, which will be launched later this month. commercially viable, it also includes display advertising and sponsored by Domino’s Pizza. 7 week 20 the RTL Group intranet

Best weekday share for more than seven years Thanks to the Uefa Europa League Final, Five gains great audience shares. United Kingdom - 14 May 2010

On 12 May, an average of 3.3 million The game peaked at 6.1 million viewers for the viewers tuned in to Five’s coverage of the final 15 minutes of extra time. Thus, Five was Europa League final between FC Fulham and Britain’s most watched channel between 21:45 Atlético Madrid, representing a total audience and 22:15. share of 15 per cent. With a daily audience share of 10.0 per cent, Five scored the best weekday Five is the lead broadcaster in the UK for live audience share since 13 March 2003. Europa League football. The current three year contract lasts until the end of the 2012 season. The match itself was watched by an average of 4.7 million viewers – this translates to a total audience share of 20 per cent.

A purely female finale Of the twelve up-and-coming designers who started Project Catwalk on RTL 5 with high hopes, Roos prevailed against two other women in the finale. Netherlands - 17 May 2010

The finalists had five weeks to design a six-piece On the last day of the contest, Roos, Shari and collection. While they worked on the pieces at Amel presented their collections to a broad home or in the studio, they received surprise audience at the Kerk De Duif in Amsterdam. visits from mentor Michiel, who came bearing The judges – designer Daryl van Wouw, the last-minute hints and advice. On the eve of the chief fashion editor of Marie Claire magazine finale, another surprise awaited the finalists: Simone Dernee, presenter Renate Verbaan their three collections are subjected to the critical and guest judge Marlies Dekkers – were review and assessment of candidates eliminated impressed but faced an unpleasant surprise earlier in the show. just before the final curtain. At the end, Roos prevailed and received the grand prize of 15,000 EUR, a photo spread in Marie Claire magazine and a show of their own at the Amsterdam Fashion Week.

8 week 20 the RTL Group intranet

“Red Devils” stay RTL Belgium prolonged its contract with the Royal Belgium Football Association for four years. The Belgian football national team is called the Red Devils Belgium - 19 May 2010

Starting at the beginning of September, the With the implementation of a multimedia plan of home matches of the so-called Red Devils will action featuring television, radio and new media, be broadcast on Club RTL, the children’s and RTL Belgium has its heart set on accompanying sport channel, and on RTL Sport in HD. For its audience on what it hopes will be a shining the Belgian group, this agreement is part of its new adventure for the Red Devils. coherent strategy as well as showing its loyalty to the Belgian team. In fact, RTL Belgium has held the broadcast rights for matches since 2002.

9 week 20 the RTL Group intranet

An eminent host The famous Croatian model Vanja Rupena has been chosen to host the second season of RTL Televizija’s show Hrvatski . Croatia - 20 May 2010

Vanja Rupena, Croatian model and host of

During a press conference in Zagreb, Vanja Casting calls for Hrvatski Top Model start this Rupena confirmed her cooperation with RTL month. The new season of Hrvatski Top model Televizija, saying: “I am proud to be a part of RTL will be broadcast on RTL Televizija in autumn Televizija’s team. I will gladly share my experi- 2010. ence and knowledge with the girls who want to be a part of the fashion world”.

Vanja Rupena is one of the rare Croatian models who have achieved a worldwide career. For the past twelve years, she has lived in Italy where she hosted shows on several Italian TV channels. She was also involved in numerous campaigns for fashion designers like Cavalli and Valentino, and has appeared on the covers of the most prestigious world magazines.

10 All we hear is Radio Gaga Delighted by the welcome she received at Fun Radio when she came to France, Lady Gaga sent a warm thanks to the station’s Managing Director, Jérôme Fouqueray. Fun Radio is the exclusive media partner of the Monster Ball Tour in France. For this occasion, the station has launched a Webradio entirely dedicated to the singer on its website. week 20 the RTL Group intranet

Expanding the online portfolio IP Deutschland has added StayFriends.de, Teenage-Rockstar.de and Zaga.de to its online portfolio, effectively positioning itself as Germany’s leading marketing agent for social media, video and for children, teens and family. Germany - 14 May 2010

Innovative and interactive RTL Radiovermarktung in Germany presents its new website – www.rtlradiovermarktung.de Germany - 14 May 2010

Golf for kids Haribo and its media partner Super RTL are hosting the Haribo Super RTL Golf Challenge 2010 for golfers aged 14 and younger. The event is being organised by UFA Brand Communication. Germany - 17 May 2010

New shows in Spain With the start of 3D on 17 May at 17:30, Antena 3 revives the current affairs evening magazines in the Spanish TV landscape. Also, Cuore – a new show based on the eponymous magazine – now airs on Neox on weekends. Spain - 17 May 2010

Seeking teenage rock stars Who hasn’t dreamed of taking centre stage with their own rock band at some point? For five musicians aged 8 to 18, the dream is about to move within reach with the competition called Teenage Rockstars. Germany - 18 May 2010

D&Co : une semaine pour tout changer is a hit With to its home decoration programme presented by the delightful Valérie Damidot, M6 was the number one channel with housewives under 50 in prime time on Monday. France - 19 May 2010 12 week 20 the RTL Group intranet

People Thorsten Sandhaus Germany - 18 May 2010

Thorsten Sandhaus (35) has been appointed the new Managing Director of the video-clip portal Clipfish with effect from 1 June. He succeeds Mathias Blüm (38), who is leaving the company to tackle a new professional challenge in his native Berlin.

“Professionally produced video content in general, and TV content in particular, drives Internet growth. Clipfish is an important pillar in Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s online video strategy,” says Matthias Büchs, Head of the Online/Mobile/Teletext department at RTL Interactive. “I would like to thank Mathias Blüm for his excellent work in recent years, especially in repositioning the video clip portal. I wish him success in his future tasks and all the best for his personal life. I am pleased that we were able to recruit an experienced successor from our own ranks in the person of Thorsten Sandhaus.”

Sandhaus has served as Head of Business Development and Marketing at Clipfish since 2007. Prior to this, the Media Management Thorsten Sandhaus graduate was Head of Marketing at Money- bookers in London, a leading international provider of online payment systems. Under Mathias Blüm’s leadership, Clipfish success- fully completed its strategy shift from being a portal for user-generated content to serving as a leading platform for professionally produced, marketable video content.

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