24 September 2009 week 39 What women want RTL Nederland’s new special-interest channel Luxembourg United States The value of TV advertising Kevin Skinner wins America’s Got Talent Germany Russia Online commercial breaks Ren TV presents accepted new season COVER: Montage with different formats of RTL Lounge hat women want derland’s new special-interest channel 2 week 39 the RTL Group intranet Drama and Lifestyle A new digital special-interest channel is going on air just in time for RTL Nederland’s 20th anniversary on 2 October: RTL Lounge. Backstage spoke with Nicolas Eglau who spearheaded the project. The Netherlands - 24 September 2009 The Netherlands has traditionally been a very cable-dominated country. However, due to the low penetration of digital homes in the past, it has been relatively unattractive so far for commercial TV groups to launch their own special-interest channels. The significant increase in digital households over the past two years has changed the situation, so RTL Nederland has now come to an agreement with the two biggest cable operators in the country – UPC and Ziggo – to run RTL Lounge. The new channel goes on air on 2 October as part of the “Royaal” package for UPC subscribers and in Ziggo’s Film & Entertainment package for its customers. In this way, RTL Lounge will reach 15 to 20 per cent of Dutch households in future. At the RTL Nederland programme presentation on 24 August, RTL Nederland CEO Bert Habets said: “RTL is tracking viewers on all platforms. Digital television is becoming increasingly more Nicolas Eglau important. Our aim is to latch onto this trend as best we can by offering distinctive, high-quality programmes. Consequently, the launch of RTL Lounge is extremely important for our company.” The new channel will be financed by a small fee RTL Nederland receives from the cable operators for each subscriber to the corresponding premium package. “This makes it possible for RTL Lounge programmes to be shown without commercial breaks,” explains Nicolas Eglau, Senior Vice President Business Development & Strategy, and now additionally responsible for RTL Lounge. However, there will be advertising between programmes. The new channel is aimed primarily at young women 25 to 35 years old: “We want a concept that interests the audience, comprises high- Rick Brandsteder, presenter of Wie is de chef? 3 week 39 the RTL Group intranet quality programmes and of course is relevant to Dutch viewers,” said Eglau. “We looked closely at the existing special-interest channels market. There are already plenty of male-oriented channels, but no high-quality special-interest channel for women with local programme brands. That’s how we came up with the idea.” During the development process, RTL Nederland has been sounding out ideas with Klaus Holtmann’s team at Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, which had already launched three digital pay-TV channels two years ago. “Forms of financing were the main topic under discussion. Special-interest channels (still) lack the necessary reach to rely entirely on advertising,” says Eglau. “Every trip to our colleagues in Germany was worth it. We especially looked at the day to day business of a thematic channel.” Like the existing RTL Nederland channels, RTL Lounge will broadcast under a Luxembourg licence. The Broadcasting Center Europe in Jamie Oliver Luxembourg is responsible for the playout. RTL Lounge’s programming is based on two pillars: drama and lifestyle. The lifestyle section is divided into five major thematic blocks: Koken (cooking), Beauty & Fashion, Wonen (Living), Reizen (Travel) and Love & Life. On each weekday, prime time is dedicated to a different theme block. “Especially for small channels, it is important to establish firm rules in the programme schedule. The audience wants to know what to expect and when. That’s why we developed this clear programme structure,” explains Eglau. “Furthermore, our programmes always begin on the hour or the half hour. That way, audiences don’t have to get used to odd start times.” The Koken section includes formats such as Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares and Wie is de chef. In the area of Fashion & Beauty RTL Lounge offers Gooische Vrouwen 4 week 39 the RTL Group intranet The cast of Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden programmes like Project Catwalk, How to look good naked and Holland’s Next Top Model. The Wonen thematic block offers Design Inc., House and Property Ladder, while the Reizen block has formats such as Rough Guides and RTL Travel. Love & Life includes formats like Wife Swap, Rich bride, poor bride and Hoe wordt ik een new. Outside of these thematic blocks – in the drama section – the channel primarily relies on domestic and international series. RTL Lounge viewers have the exclusive option of watching the latest episode of the popular soap Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden, which is shown on RTL 4 at 20:00, on the morning of that day. RTL Lounge also repeats the previous day’s episode at 19:30 so that viewers who want to enjoy the new episode in the evening can watch the previous episode again. At weekends, RTL Lounge consecutively repeats all the episodes from the past week. Besides the popular daily soap, RTL Lounge also broadcasts series and telenovelas like Lotte (the Dutch version of Ugly Betty), Gooische Vrouwen, Voetbal Vrouwen, Desire and Fashion House. As well as the convenience, the channel of course also wants to offer added value to attract viewers. In contrast to RTL 8, which is also aimed at women, RTL Lounge serves a much younger audience. Additionally, the focus of RTL Lounge is clearly on lifestyle formats, and less on movies, as is the case at RTL 8. Nicolas Eglau: “In this way, RTL Lounge offers real added value and is positioned as a complement to the existing channels.” Lotte 5 week 39 the RTL Group intranet The value of TV advertising No other medium fans the emotions as strongly and reaches as many customers in as short a time as television. In a new brochure, RTL Group elaborates on the value of television in building brands. Cover of the new brochure Luxembourg - 24 September 2009 Developments on the European TV advertising possible in no small part by the special markets have been anything but gratifying in effectiveness of TV advertising: “Efficient TV recent months – double-digit declines in advertising is often excellent entertainment. advertising income, strong pressure on spot Commercials work when they tell interesting prices and discount levels. As Europe’s biggest stories, appeal to our emotions, inform and broadcaster, RTL Group drew attention to the surprise – in short: when they are just good new market realities early on. At the same time, television,” Zeiler continues. The brochure uses RTL Group CEO Gerhard Zeiler was always examples like the British confectioner careful to emphasise the industry’s flexibility Cadbury’s drumming gorilla to show how and TV’s undiminished strength as the leading advertising spots can entertain viewers and be medium. All this was reason enough for RTL Group to take a closer look at TV advertising: what are the particular strengths of TV advertising? Does television compete with the Internet, or do they complement each other? What new forms of advertising exist beyond the traditional 30-second commercial? RTL Group’s new brochure The Inconvenient Truth About TV Commercials provides answers and food for thought in response to these questions. But above all, the publication serves to remind readers of a free-TV channel’s basic business model – and provides an engaging illustration of how such a channel finances high-quality content, which unlike on pay-TV and public- service channels are free for viewers, through TV advertising: free-TV could not be financed without advertising. “Each day, our channels air more than 11,000 commercials, booked and paid for by hundreds of different advertisers,” writes RTL Group CEO Gerhard Zeiler in his editorial. This is made Advertising is often excellent entertainment 6 week 39 the RTL Group intranet effective even without making direct reference they give rise to, the brochure finally gives an to the product. entertaining presentation of TV advertising facts and figures – for example about what The publication also touches the issue of viewers really do during commercial breaks, advertising regulations, on the one hand new advertising formats with astonishing outlining major directives at European level and names like ‘Skyscraper’ and ‘Crawl’, and the on the other quoting critical voices which make world’s most expensive or longest commercial. it clear that more and more detailed The new brochure The Inconvenient Truth regulations, let alone advertising bans, do not About TV Commercials is published – as were constitute effective consumer protection. Quite the brochures RTL Group At a glance and How the opposite: viewers can use the remote RTL Group Pays Back to Society – in a handy control or computer mouse to decide in size. Its development was lead-managed by fractions of a second whether they like a RTL Group Corporate Communications. It has programme or an ad. Therefore, more been available for download from advertising freedom ultimately leads to a RTLGroup.com since 24 September. Printed greater variety of programmes. copies are displayed in the lobby of the Corporate Centre in Luxembourg and may also After explaining how new technologies – such be ordered using the ‘Order Documents’ on the as catch-up TV services on the Internet – are website. changing TV advertising and what possibilities New platforms bring new advertising opportunities 7 week 39 the RTL Group intranet Awards for the 2008 Annual Report RTL Group has been granted numerous awards in international competitions for the 2008 Annual Report. Annual Report 2008 cover Luxembourg - 23 September 2009 At this year’s “ARC Awards” – the “Academy The LACP jury – consisting of public relations Awards of annual reports” – RTL Group won a experts from leading US companies – awarded gold medal in the “Interior Design” category for the RTL Group Annual Report the highest media companies, as it has in the past two possible score in six of the eight evaluation years.