week 27 / 2 July 2015

PIONEERING RADIO CONSUMPTION

How RTL Net has transformed RTL Radio’s French brands onlineLuxembourg Gabriella Vidus appointed CEO of RTL Hungary

North America BroadbandTV maximises visibility of the music group Major Lazer

Germany RTL Radio to broadcast from Berlin as RTL Radio – Deutschlands Hit-Radio

week 27 / 2 July 2015

PIONEERING RADIO CONSUMPTION

How RTL Net has transformed RTL Radio’s French brands onlineLuxembourg Gabriella Vidus appointed CEO of RTL Hungary

North America BroadbandTV maximises visibility of the music group Major Lazer

Germany RTL Radio to broadcast from Berlin as RTL Radio – Deutschlands Hit-Radio

Cover Montage

PublisherRTL Group

45, Bd Pierre FriedenL-1543 Luxembourg

Editor, Design, ProductionRTL Group

Corporate Communications & Marketing

backstage.rtlgroup.com backstage.rtlgroup.fr backstage.rtlgroup.de

Think before you print

QUICK VIEW

Enhanced, more viral and cooler content to boost web appeal RTL Net p.4–9

Big Picturep.17

Gabriella Vidus appointed CEO of

RTL Hungary RTL Group

p.10–11

SHORTNEWS

p.18–19

Visibility at its maximum

BroadbandTVp.12–13

A tenth anniversary definitely worth

celebrating! And in style! Groupe M6

p.15

A new home for RTL Radio

RTL Radio Deutschlandp.14

X Factor Adria a big hit in the Balkans

RTL Televizijap.16

PEOPLE

p.20–22

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Thomas Karolak, Managing Director of RTL Net

ENHANCED, MORE VIRAL AND COOLER CONTENT

TO BOOST WEB APPEAL

France – 2 July 2015

RTL Net

The online figures for rtl.fr and rtl2.fr – the first two websites previously

relaunched as part of the Digital Renaissance

programme – have been positive since their

respective makeovers, so Backstage has

decided to take a look at the digital strategy applied by RTL Net

to the four brands comprising

RTL France’s radio activities.

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Like rtl.fr and rtl2.fr, funradio.fr now also has a completely new look. Launched on 23 June 2015, the new website offers even more entertainment to complement its FM radio programmes. Moreover, its content has been made more globally appealing and more viral. The website is aiming to establish itself as a “purveyor of cheerfulness, to be consumed anywhere with no holding back!”. To achieve this it will bank on playing an extensive range of music, including all the very latest dance hits. Dance music is the brand’s DNA, but this established strength will also be backed up by the production and publication of viral content with a high fun factor, to be consumed and shared online by young listeners, the station’s main target demographic.

The online content editorial team is a true trendsetter, selecting new tracks and news reports on music, celebrities and anything weird or extraordinary that is creating a buzz on the airwaves or web. All this can be shared very quickly thanks to greatly facilitated links to social networks. The new interface boasts a crisp new look and the responsive design of the website has been specially geared to the needs of mobile and tablet users.

The new version of the funradio.fr website marks the final phase of the Digital Renaissance programme, which was launched in 2013 by Thomas Karolak, Managing Director of RTL Net, and his predecessor, Tristan Jurgensen – who is now in charge of Fun Radio and RTL 2 – to overhaul all digital content on the full range of new media.

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The site’s new graphic identity contributes to a unique brand experience

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Successfully rising to listener-related and performance challenges

The Digital Renaissance programme used a common base and identical structure to revamp the four brands. The first step entailed giving the Group a really modern-looking ‘window’. So the websites’ design was adapted to take account of the latest trends in consumption and geared to images and high visual appeal, in line with today’s online codes and web trends. Thomas Karolak explains: “Giving rtl.fr a responsive design look enabled us to attain an audience share of between 55 and 70 per cent in the evenings, compared with 25 per cent before the facelift.”

The second challenge involved positioning the brands effectively in an overcrowded web space and tweaking their exposure to attract new fans on top of its already loyal cohorts of online listeners.

With this in mind, RTL Net made sure that each brand was more clearly positioned by being given an unmistakeable look and feel and made more elegant and uncluttered. The websites’ existing key content (programmes, live feeds and presenters) was boosted by adding new material and formats specially designed for online users. Challenge

RTL.fr’s homepage

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“COMPETITION ON THE WEB IS SO FIERCE THAT WE HAD TO EXPAND THE RADIO STATIONS’ POSITIONING TO BECOME FAR

MORE VERSATILE. SO WE TRIED TO MAKE THEIR WEBSITES MIRROR MEDIA THAT ARE CONSUMED IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS.”

Thomas Karolak

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successfully taken, Thomas Karolak explains, “This enables us to be better referenced and to attract audiences not previously reached by our radio stations.”

So the website of France’s leading general-interest radio station rtl.fr, is dedicated to news, rtl2.fr provides all the very latest on the ‘Pop-Rock’ culture, the social website girls.fr targets young female web users and funradio.fr, the last website to be reworked under the Digital Renaissance programme, has a smart new profile as an entertainment portal.

Last, but certainly not least, the new websites will enable the Group to rise to the major challenge of monetising content and listening. In the free environment of radio and the internet, the sites’ clear positioning should enable the brands in question to attract advertisers and new commercial partners. To this end, the ‘monetisation’ arm recently set up by RTL Net will set about boosting value and generating more returns from their products.

The digital makeover was meant to be a staging post and driver of growth for online activities. The first new figures since the upgrade already justify the choices jointly made by RTL Net and the radio stations themselves. Summing up these initial results, a contented Thomas Karolak says: “A year after the launch of the new version, all of rtl.fr’s indicators are looking good and the trend is still rising. We are immensely proud of what our team has managed to achieve in just eight months. Embarking on the ambitious Digital Renaissance programme meant taking up the major challenge of launching four new websites in a year. Well, we did it, thanks to a real team effort by everyone at RTL Net and their colleagues at the radio stations run by RTL Radio.”

A flexible online editorial team

Apart from revitalising products and content, the Digital Renaissance programme prompted the Head of RTL Net to reorganise its structure. Very shortly after being appointed to his post in October 2014, the new Managing Director set about assigning staff to work together on all the brands to broaden their skill sets and break down any silos between them. To facilitate the planned changes, the digital subsidiary hired more web professionals to heighten the websites’ performance in terms of images, audiences and marketing appeal. Meanwhile, the websites’ ‘intelligence’ in terms of concept and ergonomics is pooled in a new ‘product’ arm.

Constant innovation

The projects currently in RTL Net’s pipeline include maintaining the same level of innovation, raising the strong brands’ profiles in the apps environment and rolling out more products online. The digital subsidiary also envisages creating new video content very soon, this being “one of our audience- and monetisation-related priorities”, as Thomas Karolak revealed at a press meeting held on Monday 22 June 2015.

SPOTLIGHT ON THOMAS KAROLAK

Thomas Karolak started his career at Groupe M6 back in September 2000 before joining Vivendi, where he set up zaOza and became the Marketing Manager at Vivendi Mobile Entertainment. He was then placed in charge of e-TF1’s Mobile and TV departments, assigned to increase ratings and revenues associated with mobile phones, tablets, IPTV and connected TV.

Karolak joined RTL Net in January 2013 as Editorial Manager before being appointed Deputy Managing Director in July 2014 and then Managing Director in October 2014.

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LEADING FRENCH NEWS WEBSITE

New version launched in June 2014The first French audiovisual portal to have used responsive design to develop its website The first medium to belaunched in the amplified radio concept

Attracting more and more visitors The most popular radio website for the past 27 months3.5 million unique visitors every month (source: Médiamétrie, average January to April 2015)The only radio website among the top 20 news websites Up five places over the past year, with its highest ranking in March: 12th 42 million pages viewed per month, an increase of 24 per cent (source: Google Analytics)

Steadily rising video consumption 2.5 million Live Radio sessions viewed per month on average, up 40 per cent 72 per cent of programmes consumed by streaming after the initial broadcast basis (catch-up, radio, streaming special content produced for online consumption), the main reason for this being better referencing9 million podcasts downloaded per month (up 69 per cent) A 100 per cent rise in the number of mobile listeners (nearly 4 million visits a month)The leading radio website among tablet users, attracting 1.5 million unique visitors (March 2015)35 per cent more visitors directed to the website by search engines and 59 per cent more directed by Google newsSix times more traffic from Facebook

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THE NEW-LOOK RTL2.FR IS OFF TO A FLYING START

New version launched in March 2015339,000 unique visitors in April 2015 (up 61 per cent), the most progress made by any music radio station website in a single month 175 per cent more traffic from Facebook92 per cent more traffic from mobile phones

FOUR FACTS ABOUT THOMAS KAROLAK

His five favourite apps are...Flipboard, Pocket, Instagram, Facebook and News Republic.

If he could trade places with a contemporary figure for a week, who would that person be? The young American student who didn’t know back then that he was going to make his mark on the future.

His favourite radio programme is...The one presented by Francis Zegut on RTL 2, who embodies the prescriptive approach essential to radio, stringing together great tracks and explaining his choices.

Which two things would he take along with him to a desert island? His family and a Swiss Army knife.

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GABRIELLA VIDUS APPOINTED CEO OF RTL HUNGARY RTL Group

On 01 July 2015, RTL Group announced the appointment of Gabriella Vidus (39), currently General Manager of RTL Hungary’s advertising sales house R-time, as the new Chief Executive Officer of RTL Hungary with immediate effect. Luxembourg – 1 July 2015

In addition, RTL Hungary’s Programming Director Péter Kolosi (43) has been promoted to Deputy CEO of RTL Hungary, also with immediate effect. In the new position, he will remain responsible for the programming of RTL Hungary’s family of channels, including the market-leading flagship channel RTL Klub and the seven cable channels for Hungarian-speaking audiences.

Andreas Rudas, who had taken over the management of RTL Hungary as Interim CEO in March 2015, will continue to serve as Chairman of the company’s Board, as part of his responsibilities as RTL Group’s Executive Vice President Regional Operations & Business Development CEE and Asia.

Gabriella Vidus

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Andreas Rudas: “Gabriella Vidus has been instrumental in making our family of channels the clear market leader in the Hungarian advertising market and in transforming our sales house R-time into an efficient and flexible service provider. She is deeply familiar with RTL Group, our management culture and the international TV industry. Her vision and dynamic leadership make her an excellent choice to open a new chapter in RTL Hungary’s growth story. I congratulate Péter Kolosi on his promotion to Deputy CEO. With his programming skills and sense for new trends, he has been a key force in growing our audience leadership and building a strong, highly complementary family of channels. I am delighted we can appoint such a young and dynamic leadership duo from our local management team.”

Gabriella Vidus has been responsible for developing and implementing the advertising sales strategy of RTL Hungary, as well as the third-party channels represented by R-time, since 2008. Having begun her career as a client service manager at TV2/MTM-SBS in 1997, she became Head of Sales at RTL Klub in 2002. Since the creation of R-time in 2004, her tasks have also included leading its sales team and dealing with partners such as AXN (Sony Television) and Discovery Channel.

Péter Kolosi started his career in 1994 as a reporter, senior editor and presenter on several programmes on Magyar Televízió. He has been working for RTL since the launch of RTL Klub, RTL Group’s first channel in Hungary, in September 1997. He joined as Editor in chief and presenter of the daily magazine show, Fókusz, and became Programming Director in July 2001. He is also responsible for PR and Communications at RTL Hungary, and has been a member of the RTL Hrvatska Supervisory Board since March 2013.

Péter Kolosi

Andreas Rudas

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The multi-channel network BroadbandTV has recently welcomed three new popular Youtubers to its network, including one of the hottest music groups in the world right now, Major Lazer. North America – 29 June 2015

Since the beginning of the partnership with BroadbandTV in February 2015, Major Lazer has seen its monthly views on Youtube grow by 4,300 per cent from 2.5 million to 110 million. Major Lazer’s song Lean On was number one in the Spotify Global Top 50 chart for two consecutive weeks and is currently Number 17 in Billboard’s global Top 100 chart. In total, Lean On has generated 258 million views including the official music video, the lyric video and fan-uploaded content.

A recent news article on TheVideoink.com outlines this successful partnership and quotes Shahrzad Rafati, Founder and CEO of BroadbandTV: “We’re building one of the most impressive music ecosystems online by providing technology, services, distribution and monetisation to help artists become more successful. Historically, artists have worked with talent managers and record labels to ensure their music is distributed and managed as successfully as possible. The market continues to evolve at an incredible rate and forward thinking artists such as Major Lazer understand that online video is the most important platform to engage with their fans – that’s where BroadbandTV comes in.”

VISIBILITY AT ITS MAXIMUM BroadbandTV

Shahrzad Rafati, Founder and CEO of BroadbandTV

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“There’s a direct correlation between the success of the track and its Youtube viewership, the two go hand-in-hand,” says Ali Adab, Vice President of Content and Partnerships at BroadbandTV in the same article, who then goes on to explain that BroadbandTV’s Youtube strategy went beyond the successful official music video by “releasing lyrics videos in a staggered schedule for each song on [their latest album, Peace Is the Mission]. This has helped generate consistent traffic to the channel outside of their hit Lean On.”

In addition to helping Major Lazer optimise its Youtube channel and successfully roll out its premium content, BroadbandTV has monetised nearly 26,000 videos of Major Lazer content uploaded by fans. This has generated an additional revenue stream for the band. “It’s ultimately about providing the artist with an end-to-end solution, spanning monetisation, distribution, video management, content creation, and optimisation expertise to help them reach their objectives. No two artists are the same so you have to absolutely tailor the approach for each,” points out Adab. “We’ve put Major Lazer back in control of the content and opened up new revenue streams for them. This ultimately gives them more insight to their fans. They know how their fans are listening to and sharing their content, which in turn helps them to produce more great content.”

In addition, BroadbandTV has recently welcomed two other popular Youtubers to its network: Youtube personality and fitness trainer Davey Wavey, who attracts 1.3 million subscribers on his three Youtube channels with over 225 million monthly views, and RCL Beauty 101, whose beauty and lifestyle videos have over 2.7 million subscribers and over 260 million views.

You can read the full article here

Ali Adab, Vice President of Content and Partnership at BroadbandTV

EXCEPTIONAL GROWTHAccording to Comscore’s latest worldwide Youtube partners analysis report of April 2015, BroadbandTV is the world’s fastest growing major multi-platform network (MPN) in terms of both total desktop views (up 46 per cent) and unique views (up 33 per cent) since the end of Q3 2014. Moreover, Comscore’s latest US Youtube partners analysis of May 2015 reports that BroadbandTV grew three times faster than its average monthly growth from the end of Q3 2014, showing that its growth rate is continuing to accelerate. Since September 2013, BroadbandTV network views have risen 370 per cent and the number of partners on its network has more than tripled to 34,000.

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From Luxembourg to the German capital. Starting immediately, RTL Radio will be broadcasting across Germany from Berlin as ‘RTL Radio – Deutschlands Hit-Radio’. Germany – 1 July 2015

The radio station’s target audience for its new music programming is listeners aged between 25 and 55 years old. At the heart of the new station lies the latest and best hits, plus RTL’s greatest hits. RTL Radio Center Berlin, a full subsidiary of RTL Radio Deutschland, will be responsible for production. Luxembourg will continue producing the local content and regional service.

Elmar Heggen, Chief Financial Officer and Head of the RTL Group Corporate Centre, says: “The RTL Radio production order is in the best possible hands at RTL Radio Center Berlin. The expertise of our local colleagues there will be extremely beneficial to us.”

“This is an historic day for us. We are breaking new ground in the international radio production market in Berlin and will now be able to share our success story with totally new groups of listeners across the country,” says Gert Zimmer, CEO of RTL Radio Deutschland.

“We are really looking forward to this new role and our cooperation with our colleagues in Luxembourg. Together we aim to add another successful chapter to RTL Radio’s exciting history,” adds Stephan Schmitter, CEO of RTL Radio Center Berlin.

RTL Radio – Deutschlands Hit-Radio is broadcast nationwide via cable, satellite and VHF on frequencies 93.3 and 97.0 MHz (in Luxembourg, Trier, Eifel and Saarland). RTL Radio was established in 1957 as Radio Luxemburg and rose to national cult radio station status with presenters like Frank Elstner, Anke Engelke, Hugo Egon Balder and Thomas Gottschalk.

A NEW HOME FOR RTL RADIO RTL Radio Deutschland

Stephan Schmitter, CEO of RTL Radio Center Berlin

Gert Zimmer, CEO of RTL Radio Deutschland

Elmar Heggen, Chief Financial Officer and Head of the RTL Group Corporate Centre

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On 28 June 2015, M6 mobile by Orange celebrated ten years in music and online. So M6 mobile organised the M6 mobile Sing Party to celebrate with the public and honour the best songs of the last decade. France – 26 June 2015

The M6 mobile Sing Party took place on the Berges de Seine promenade in Paris and was broadcast live on Dailymotion. Partygoers of all ages made their way there to sing along with all the smash hits that have made French listeners want to get up and dance since 2005, the date when M6 mobile by Orange was launched. Some of the music played was selected online by users in advance, other tracks will be timeless evergreens voted for live by members of the public. Organised in partnership with Deezer and Dailymotion, the M6 mobile Sing Party combined mobile telephony and digital technology, with a dedicated mobile app enabling partygoers to vote for songs in real time and hundreds of interconnected microphones which people can use to record and add sound effects via their smartphones.

M6 mobile by Orange was launched in June 2005 to pool the expertise and combine the strength of the Orange and M6 brands. It was the first mobile operator to propose prepaid subscriptions offering unlimited calls, and today has 2.8 million customers.

The M6 mobile Sing Party started at 16:30 on 28 June 2015 on the Berges de Seine promenade. For more information, go to m6mobile.fr.

A TENTH ANNIVERSARY DEFINITELY WORTH CELEBRATING! AND IN STYLE!

Groupe M6

DID YOU KNOW?Orange is one of the world’s leading telecom operators. In 2014 it generated turnover totalling €39 billion and has 155,000 employees, including 98,000 in France (figures from 31 March 2015). Active in 29 different countries, as at 31 March 2015, the Group was serving 247 million clients around the world, including 188 million mobile customers and 16 million fixed broadband customers.

Photos from the M6 Mobile Sing Party

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The X Factor Adria finale broadcast on RTL Televizija in Croatia on 21 June 2015 was watched by 38.5 per cent of the 18 to 49 target group. Croatia – 30 June 2015

The finale of the three-month search for the singer with the ‘X Factor’ was broadcast from Belgrade to five countries in the region. Of the 60 contestants from Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYROM and Serbia who passed auditions to go through to the live shows, only six reached the finals.

The judges included well-known music personalities from Croatia and Serbia: Croatian singer Massimo, Croatian singer-songwriter Tonci Huljic, Serbian singer Zeljko Joksimovic and Serbian singer-songwriter Aleksandra Kovac. The show was presented by Antonija Blace and Aleksandar Radojicic.

This season’s X Factor Adria winner is Amel Ćurić, 35, from Gračanice, Bosnia and Herzegovina singer, a protégé of the Croatian musician Massimo Savić.

“As much I was hoping to win, I couldn’t believe it when it happened. In the bootcamp I had a feeling that I would go all the way. The money I earned will be invested in furthering my music career. I dedicate this victory to my girlfriend and parents,” said an overjoyed Amel. On average the show was watched by 26.7 per cent of Croatian viewers.

X FACTOR ADRIA A BIG HIT IN THE BALKANS RTL Televizija

Amel Ćurić, the winner of X Factor Adria 2015

According to Médiamétrie, the top two TV tweets for the week of 22-28 June 2015 were the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 aired on 26 June on W9, which generated 198,000 tweets, followed by the show Marrakech du Rire 2015 broadcast on M6, which generated 115,000 tweets.

© FFF

© P

ascale Mendive

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A thrilling experience Bel RTL / Radio Contact Bel RTL and Radio Contact team up and launch ‘Radio Xperience’, a call for applications offering young graduates the opportunity to experience what it is like to work in radio. For further information please click here. Belgium – 26 June 2015

Successful start in the US UFA Fiction On 17 June, the UFA Fiction production Deutschland 83 was launched successfully on SundanceTV: the first episode achieved ratings that were almost three times as high as those of other shows on the same day (viewers aged 25 to 54). Germany – 29 June 2015

For football fans RTL Belgium RTL Belgium acquired the TV rights for the next three seasons of the Belgian Cup ‘Croky Cup’. The group has also entered into a new partnership with the Belgian Football Union. Starting next season, RTL Sport will offer 72 live matches. Belgium – 29 June 2015

TV Notes 2015: Groupe M6 still has a place in French hearts Groupe M6 This year for TV Notes 2015, Internet users were once again able to nominate their favourite programmes, presenters, series and television channels and Groupe M6 is one of the big winners of 2015, collecting several awards which confirm the French public’s affection for the Groupe and ranking it at the top three of the channel of the first generation category. M6 came first in the categories ‘Reality TV or Reality documentary’ with Cauchemar en Cuisine (Kitchen Nightmares) and ‘French series’ with Scène de Ménages followed by L’Amour est dans le Pré on M6 and Soda on W9 – in their respective categories. The ‘Presenter of the season’ is Karine Le Marchand. France – 30 June 2015

SHORT NEWS 1/2

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Eight brand new episodes FremantleMedia International Following its success on Channel 4, police drama series No Offence has been recommissioned for a second season. No Offence is produced by Abbott Vision and distributed internationally by FremantleMedia International. United Kingdom – 30 June 2015

The high-tech gentleman’s guide... Groupe M6 To mark its 15th anniversary, Clubic.com, the trusted portal for all things high-tech, is being relaunched. With a new look and a fully interactive website, Clubic.com is now better designed, clearer and more mobile-friendly. France – 30 June 2015

It will be great! Radio Luxembourg Former DJs from the legendary Radio Luxembourg 208 are holding a reunion in Luxembourg this weekend. You can join the party on Saturday night at the Big Beer Company in Clausen or listen to the livestream here. Luxembourg – 1 July 2015

Jobs back in the spotlight RTL Radio On 24 June 2015, the day that the unemployment figures for May were published, RTL Radio (France), Facebook, the CGPME and Work 4 took action and offered over 50,000 jobs on the Facebook page Les PME recrutent! and on the portal rtlemploi.fr. France – 1 July 2015

SHORT NEWS 2/2

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PEOPLE

LEON SIOTIS

SpotXchange North America – 29 June 2015

SpotXchange, the trusted platform for video advertising, appoints Leon Siotis as Managing Director UK and Southern Europe, based in London.

Siotis will start in July with responsibility to grow SpotXchange’s business in the region. Siotis brings nine years of digital advertising experience from companies including Bright Roll – which was acquired by Yahoo in October 2014 – Rubicon Project, MySpace and AOL’s Advertising.com. At SpotXchange, Siotis will work with the leading publishers and broadcasters in the UK and Southern Europe to help them manage their video inventory and maximise advertising revenue. He will direct the team advising publishers on revenue management, including creating private marketplaces, and programmatic guaranteed deals.

Mike Shehan, CEO of SpotXchange, comments: “Leon Siotis brings years of digital experience gained at some of the industry’s major advertising platforms. He launched real-time bidding and programmatic buying to agencies across Europe and worked in video at Bright Roll, Yahoo and at Advertising.com.”

Siotis will closely work with Elwin Gastelaars, Managing Director for Benelux and the Nordics, as well as Stefan Beckmann as Managing Director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The three aim to increase the adoption of SpotXchange’s supply side platform throughout Europe.

Mike Shehan: “We couldn’t ask for better experience in Europe than the combination of Siotis, Beckmann and Gastelaars to help publishers and broadcasters optimise their revenue from video, mobile video, IPTV and programmatic TV advertising.”

Leon Siotis, Managing Director UK and Souther Europe, SpotXchange

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PEOPLE

BIBIANE GODFROID LEAVES GROUPE M6

Groupe M6 France – 2 July 2015

Bibiane Godfroid left Groupe M6 on 30 June 2015, after eight years of collaboration as the Head of Programming for its flagship channel M6. On behalf of Groupe M6, Nicolas de Tavernost personally thanked Bibiane Godfroid for the development of M6 programmes over the last few years, wishing her all the best for her future career.

Bibiane Godfroid was Director of Programmes at M6 from 2007 to 2014 in a competitive climate which was profoundly affected by the growing strength of the DTT. In December 2014, Bibiane Godfroid was appointed Director of Production so that she could dedicate herself exclusively to managing Groupe M6’s audiovisual production subsidiaries, C-Productions and Studio 89, with the aim of optimising their development.

Bibiane Godfroid’s career at the heart of today’s RTL Group started in 1978 when Jean-Charles De Keyser hired her as a Belgian correspondent for RTL Radio (France). After six months on the radio, she joined the Belgian team at Télé Luxembourg where she covered many stories for the news programme which she started presenting in 1983. When RTL-TVI started in 1987, Bibiane Godfroid was appointed Director of Programmes. In 1990, she left her position as Director of Programmes and Fiction and moved to Paris to join the public broadcasting channel France 2 as Director of Programming. In 1996 she became Director General of all of the Canal+ group channels and was also On-Air Production Director. Changing course in 2003, Bibiane Godfroid was appointed CEO of FremantleMedia France before joining the ranks of M6 in 2007.

Bibiane Godfroid

THE REASONS FOR HER DEPARTURE

Bibiane Godfroid explains her departure from Groupe M6 in an interview for puremedias.com “I would like to see what else I can learn now. Nicolas de Tavernost and I discussed my departure a year ago and there are still horizons I haven’t explored.”

Click here to read the full interview.

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André Torrent

PEOPLE

ANDRÉ TORRENT

RTL Radio France – 26 June 2015

A number of special programmes have been scheduled to say goodbye to André Torrent. On Sunday, 28 June, a three-hour programme, airing from 20:00 to 23:00, looked back at Hit-Parade, which he presented from 1972 to 1981. On Saturday, 4 July, the man himself will be editor-in-chief of the programme Journal inattendu alongside Bernard Poirette, airing between 12:30 and 13:30. And last, but certainly not least, he will man the mike for the last ever Torrent de musique on Sunday, 5 July.

André Torrent, the iconic voice of RTL Radio (France), has decided to bow out after a truly stellar career on the radio. No fewer than three farewell programmes have been scheduled to pay tribute to a journalist and presenter who did so much to shape the history of France’s leading radio station.

From 4:30 to 7:00 every Saturday and Sunday, without fail, Torrent turns up in the studio. But in early July of this year, at just under 70 years of age and after more than 40 years on air, he will present the last ever edition of his show Torrent de musique. The man who was the first to give away the legendary La valise RTL (RTL suitcase) in 1974 rose to popularity between 1970 and 1980, making wonderful memories for an entire generation by presenting unforgettable music programmes for RTL Radio like Le Hit-Parade, Studio 22 and Stop ou Encore. Countless top names from the French chanson scene featured as studio guests on the programme of the man nicknamed ‘the friend of the stars’.

Before coming to work at RTL Radio’s headquarters in rue Bayard, Paris, Torrent earned his stripes in the broadcaster’s studios in Brussels, starting in August 1967, where he worked primarily on the show La disco de papa. He also presented programmes including Torrentiellement vôtre and Super Juke Box, broadcast from the Villa Louvigny in Luxembourg city on Télé Luxembourg and RTL Télévision. But he was also the producer, programme developer (together with René Steichen), and presenter of the first ever televised hit parade and also became a video clip pioneer.

Christopher Baldelli, CEO of RTL Radio (France), is effusive in his praise: “André Torrent has brought immense joy to RTL Radio’s listeners for an incredible 40 years. He is a towering talent and has been a key figure behind many real highlights of the radio station’s history. He will always be remembered as one of the founding members of the great RTL radio team. For me personally his departure is all the more emotional because I grew up as a child of the Hit-Parade – André Torrent generation, doing my homework while listening to RTL radio”.

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