6 October 2011 week 40 Get cooking How M6 attracts tens of thousands of visitors to a cooking trade fair Austria Germany Gerhard Zeiler at the X Factor becomes more Österreichische Medientage interactive Luxembourg France RTL Group companies M6 launches new receive six Emmys interview magazine the RTL Group intranet week 40 Cover: Motif of promotion poster for the trade fair “Cuisinez avec M6”. 2 the RTL Group intranet week 40 Paris’ gigantic kitchen M6 is arranging the trade fair “Cuisinez avec M6” (Get Cooking With M6), a landmark event that is an absolute must for anyone interested in cooking and will focus on fine food, featuring the chefs well-known from the channel’s various cooking shows. France - 6 October 2011 Top Chef panel of judges (Christian Constant, Thierry Marx, Ghislaine Arabian and Jean-François Piège) In 2011, the Cuisinez trade fair is making a very As Nicolas de Tavernost, Chairman of the welcome comeback after a three-year break. Management Board of Groupe M6, explains: The initiative for this renaissance is down to the “Groupe M6 and cooking is a story of taste that TV channel M6. With its hit programmes such as has plenty of juice left in it yet, so it seemed totally Un Dîner presque parfait (Come Dine With Me), logical to us to take that TV food experience Top Chef and M.I.A.M M6 has demonstrated into a trade fair setting. Members of the public a real passion for cooking. In fact, in line with attending the fair will be able to share with all its former reputation as “the little channel that’s the participating professionals the gastronomic going places”, M6 has long since proved its values that our programmes strive to convey, expertise in this domain and was the first French namely conviviality, sharing, a passion for food, channel to give this innovative concept a real go. self-fulfilment and wellbeing”. Based on the know-how the channel has Groupe M6 has always been a trailblazer acquired over the past few years, its when it comes to expanding its wide range of subsidiary M6 Interactions has teamed up with diversification activities and to leverage its strong Reed Expositions (the French leader in staging brands. The trade fair “Cuisinez avec M6” (Get trade fairs for professional and public visitors Cooking With M6) underlines this spirit. Drawing alike) to create an event that is unique from start inspiration from Anglo-American cooking shows, to finish. It will transform the Porte de Versailles especially those aired by the BBC in the United Exhibition Centre (Parc des Expositions) in Paris Kingdom, M6 brought in the best professionals into a gigantic kitchen, where food fans will be around to organise and bring together all the able to give free rein to their cooking skills, from partners it needed to bring the project to fruition. Thursday 6 October to Sunday 9 October. More Now, after nearly a year of hard toil, the team has than 50,000 visitors are expected to attend. successfully cooked up a top-quality programme, combining contributions by top chefs, celebrity food experts and outstanding contestants from the channel’s cookery programmes. 3 the RTL Group intranet week 40 idea is to beat everyone else and be the first to stake a claim in the domain of cooking events“. Thanks to a business model based both on revenues from exhibitors, partners and ticket sales, Thierry Desmichelle also hopes to sell advertising space that will generate revenue for the channel’s advertising arm and thereby also significant operating income. “Cuisinez avec M6” trade fair will open on Thursday 6 October 2011 under the high patronage of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food and in the presence of Frédéric Lefèbvre, the French secretary of Cyril Lignac state for trade, crafts, small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism On the menu, apart from product tastings,will be and services at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the chance to take part in live shows, workshops Industry and Employment. or cooking competitions hosted by more than 150 leading professionals, including talented Chef On top of this live event for the general public, and owner of a Parisian gourmet restaurant Cyril M6 will of course be scheduling special Lignac, who has become one of the “channel programmes spotlighting the event. On Friday faces” of M6, but also Michelin-star decorated 7 October, viewers will be served up an edition Chefs and judges on the Top Chef and Un Dîner of 100% Mag specially shot on location at the presque parfait panels such as Jean-François fair, and there will also be numerous pieces Piège, Thierry Marx, Christian Constant, Philippe about it aired on the news. Furthermore, Etchebest and Jean Sulpice. So the event will be RTL Radio, the fair’s media partner, will devote a great opportunity for members of the public to a considerable share of its content during the meet their food idols and get cooking with them. event to the art of cooking. Former participants from the shows Top Chef and Un Dîner presque parfait will also be on hand, together with respective winners of the 2010 and 2011 Top Chef editions Romain Tischenko and Stéphanie Le Quellec, but also Pierre-Sang Boyer, finalist inTop Chef 2011 and Grégory Cuilleron, winner of Un Dîner presque parfait in 2009. And there will be plenty on offer for kids as well, including the chance to take part in hands-on workshops specifically designed to train up those inexperienced taste buds. Thierry Desmichelle, Managing Director of M6 Interactions, explains that there were several reasons for organising the “Cuisinez avec M6” fair: “First and foremost, the fair is about spotlighting some of our strong brands such as Top Chef and Un Dîner presque parfait and bringing them to life. At the same time we’ll be showcasing our celebrity food experts. The Stéphanie Le Quellec 4 the RTL Group intranet week 40 Facts and figures • Four days of fascinating encounters, mouthwatering activities, tastings and sales from 6 to 9 October 2011 covering an areas of 5,000 m2 at the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre in Paris • Over 200 free culinary activities, courses and shows on offer from 150 professionals, including more than 60 chefs • 50,000 amateur cooks, ranging from beginners to old hands are expected to attend • Partners include leading French brands such as Conforama, Truffaut, Fnac and Gourmets & Vins • No fewer than six fully equipped kitchens each with a specially-designed programme of five courses per day, given by very big-name Chefs • Admittance to the fair is priced at €18, but reduced-rate tickets at €14 will be available for groups and students • Passes costing €41 will secure visitors a place on a private, one-hour course led by a top contestant from Top Chef • Additional courses on food photography, wine appreciation and table setting will also be on offer, and an extensive display of aromatic herbs as well as plenty of other free workshops and activities will be open to all visitors For more information see Salon-Cuisinez.com Map of the “Cuisinez avec M6” trade fair 5 the RTL Group intranet week 40 “We are interested in as many people as possible watching our content” At the 18th Österreichische Medientage RTL Group CEO Gerhard Zeiler and Hans-Holger Albrecht, CEO of the Modern Times Group, discussed the future of television. Gerhard Zeiler Austria - 30 September 2011 Both executives expressed their belief that you realise how they see the world: television will continue to play a major role in they want to achieve dominance in the people’s lives going forward. “Television is and audiovisual world, a dominance they already remains the leading medium,” said Gerhard have in the online search sector. Youtube Zeiler, adding that this is why he isn’t worried is their brand for content, while Google TV when people share their thoughts about TV serves as the technology platform.“ programmeson Twitter or Facebook. Zeiler Facebook, Apple and Amazon have similar emphasised that linear TV use has plans, Albrecht said, so these players “are increased in nearly all countries, and that’s clearly rivals.” not even including non-linear usage, which is also on the rise. The strength of TV companies, he continued, is primarily their content, which the new On the technology front, two things competitors don’t yet have. Google for one has have changed in particular: “The quality of announced it plans to invest $500 million in television has improved,” Zeiler remarked, content. Zeiler says: “That’s not even one-fifth referring to the development of flat screens, of what we spend on content per year – that HD and 3D television. And secondly, the market entry barriers for new players in the TV market are coming down. “The distribution market is already open for business,” said Hans-Holger Albrecht. “The future belongs to the Internet as a distribution channel.” This gives companies direct access to consumers – without the detour via cable operators, for instance. At the same time, however, competition is increasing as viewers’ brand loyalty diminishes. Albrecht, who recently visited Google and Facebook in the US, said: “Talking to Google executives, Host Sebastian Loudon with Hans-Holger Albrecht and Gerhard Zeiler (from left to right) 6 the RTL Group intranet week 40 doesn’t scare us.” Albrecht also pointed out that the worldwide dominance of Hollywood productions is diminishing: the strength of TV broadcasters lies above all in local content, as well as in linear television for major events and sport broadcasts. Another advantage, according to Albrecht, is that here in Europe one can closely monitor developments in America to prepare for possible threats.