week 07 - rtl groupand big stunts. they offer advice on buying new technology, bring news of the...

France

Groupe M6 reports stable results

Germany / France

RTL Group companies coverthe Olympics

Germany

FremantleMedia Licensing develops Merlin App

Netherlands

RTL Nederland partnerswith Philips

week 07

18 February 2010

Gadgets galoreHow Five’s The Gadget Show becomes a role model of diversification

the RTL Group intranetweek 07

France

Groupe M6 reports stable results

Germany / France

RTL Group companies coverthe Olympics

Germany

FremantleMedia Licensing develops Merlin App

Netherlands

RTL Nederland partnerswith Philips

week 07

18 February 2010

Gadgets galoreHow Five’s The Gadget Show becomes a role model of diversification

Jason Bradbury and Suzi Perry, both presenters of Five’s The Gadget Show, trying to survive in the Liwa desert using a range of hi-tech gadgets and garments.

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Presented by a team of four – Jason Bradbury, Suzi Perry, Jon Bentley and Ortis Deley – The Gadget Show presents and reviews the latest technology news and gadgets. The show is aimed at giving the mass consumer an insight into the gadget world. In addition, it aims to give enough information for the more “geeky” audi-ence while still making it accessible to the more casual viewer.

When The Gadget Show was first broadcast in 2004 it was planned as weekly programme of 30 minutes. Later it was extended to air for 60 minutes each week. Now in its 13th season, the team still tests the latest high-tech gadgets using innovative methods involving epic challenges and big stunts. They offer advice on buying new technology, bring news of the latest games and gizmos, as well as giving viewers the opportu-nity to win some of the best buys on the market. With more than two million viewers each week, The Gadget Show is one of Five’s most popular formats.

In 2009, the show was extended off air with The Gadget Show Live – a four-day exhibi-tion. Last year’s inaugural show attracted more than 50,000 gadget enthusiasts. This year, the event has been extended to a fifth day to cater for increased demand for tickets, as more than 65,000 visitors are expected. It will be held from 8 to 11 April at the NEC, Birmingham.

Additionally, Future, a special-interest media group and UK’s market-leading consumer technology publisher, will launch The Gadget Show Magazine, the programme’s first ever print edition. Created as a one shot special, The Gadget Show Magazine goes on sale this April, with a cover price of GBP 5. The Gadget Show Magazine promises to bring the popular TV tech-nology show to life in print. The 132-page title will look back at The Gadget Show’s ultimate gear from 2009, with an eye on the best of the year ahead. The magazine will be widely available at retail outlets throughout the UK with advertising sold by Future’s technology sales team.

Following the announcement of the magazine and in the lead-up to this year’s live event, Backstage talked to Emma Derrick, Five’s Commercial Development Controller, about the format itself and its brand extension.

“Technology brings benefits” The Gadget Show demonstrates how a TV format can be extended off screen. Backstage talked to Emma Derrick about Five’s diversification strategy.United Kingdom - 18 February 2010

Emma Derrick, Commercial Development Controller at Five

The Gadget Show team: Jason Bradbury, Ortis Deley, Suzi Perry and Jon Bentley


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Does the average viewer of The Gadget Show differ from the average Five-viewer? Yes. The Gadget Show is younger, slightly more upmarket and male than the average Five viewer. A third of Gadget Show viewers are aged between 16 and 34 years and half of them are ABC1s – a premium target group. And despite the show being in its 13th season, it continues to grow in popularity. Last year’s series was the biggest ever and a Christmas special was the single most watched episode in the show’s history.

Why is The Gadget Show so suitable for brand extensions off screen?The Gadget Show is now in its 13th series and has gradually built up an incredibly loyal audience. The excitement and passion that the presenters and format portray makes it highly engaging. Last season – the 12th – was The Gadget Show’s most successful to date attract-ing an average of 1.62 million viewers across the series and a 6.6 per cent share. Also, it’s one of the five most-streamed programmes on our catch-up TV service, Demand Five. It appeals to people at all levels of technical ability cutting through the jargon by demonstrating the actual benefits that the technology brings to the consumer in layman terms. As a result the viewers trust and want to buy into Gadget Show beyond the TV screen.

In April you are going to organize The Gadget Show Live for the second year now. What makes this brand extension work?Our live event partner Upper Street Event completely understood the brand and ensured that the ethos of this was maintained throughout the show and that the feature reflected all that represents the Gadget Show. four out of five visi-tors to the 2009 event rated it as ‘excellent’. The event has doubled in size in 2010 and all 56,000 tickets sold out on the 9 February, two months prior to the show opening. This year we will have a prominent Gadget Show / Five stand which will

include a fully equipped studio and editing suit and merchandise stand selling a select range of Gadget Show products.

What’s the role of the 132-paged Magazine which you launch this year to accompany the live event?The Gadget Show Special Edition is a one-off, premium quality annual, celebrating the show, the gadgets, and giving the inside track on each of the presenters – their likes, their loathes and the kit they use every day. With in-depth Q&A’s, behind the scenes insight and a mammoth look back at the kit that’s made technology great over the past 20 years, The Gadget Show Special Edition brings classic moments of the show to life in print for the first time ever. The special will be retailed from strategic sites within Gadget Show Live, including the main entrance and concourse as well as on newsstands.

What is your favorite gadget?My Sky + box and new blu-ray DVD player which I’ve been really impressed with. After the live show and the magazine – are there any more plans to diversify the format even further?Yes, we hope to appoint a creative marketing agency to look at partner promotions and we’d also like to take our live event merchandise into the high street retailers in 2011.

This is how the magazine could look like

During the ‘desert challenge’ Suzi Perry and Jason Bradburry face their most punishing challenge ever


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In 2009, in a tough economic and fiercely competitive environment, Groupe M6 proved the strength of its business model: consolidated revenues increased by 1.6 per cent to EUR 1,376.6 million. This increase was fuelled mainly by growth in the digital channels and the diversi-fication businesses.

At EUR 190.3 million, Groupe M6’s operat-ing result (EBITA) was only slightly below the previous year’s value of EUR 190.3 million. Return on Sales remained high at 13.8 per cent.

Mainly due to lower ad sales, the main channel M6’s result declined by 14.4 per cent to EUR 117.9 million. Considerable cuts in programme costs compensated for part of this decline in advertising income, without adverse consequences for the channel’s audience shares.

Meanwhile, Groupe M6 recorded significant revenue growth from its digital channels (by 19.7 per cent to EUR 22.7 million) and diversification businesses (by 23.4 per cent to EUR 52.2 million).

Net profit for the publicly traded Group amounted to EUR 139.2 million, a slight increase over the previous year’s result (EUR 138.4 million).

Groupe M6 exercised its put option relative to its 5.1 per cent shareholding in Canal Plus France. On 22 February 2010, the Group will receive a payment of EUR 384.2 million for this shareholding from Vivendi.

In view of Groupe M6’s business results and cash position at 31 December 2009, the Management Board has proposed to the Annual General Meeting, which takes place on 4 May 2010, the payout of an extraordinary dividend of EUR 1.50 per share in addition to the stable ordinary dividend of EUR 0.85 per share.

Stable results in 2009 Groupe M6 reports operating result and net profit on par with previous year and a slight increase in revenue thanks to strong digital and diversification businesses.France - 12 February 2010

Grupo Antena 3’s net profit was down 33 per cent to EUR 60.7 million (2008: EUR 91 million), while the company’s operating result (EBITDA) decreased from EUR 164 million in 2008 to EUR 81 million in 2009. Following the economic downturn, the Spanish net TV advertising market fell by an estimated 23 per cent in 2009. Grupo Antena 3’s revenue was down 15.5 per cent to EUR 704 million (2008: EUR 833 million).

In the fourth quarter, the TV channel Antena 3 clearly outperformed the market. While the over-all advertising market was down 11.2 per cent, Antena 3 could increase its advertising revenues by 5.7 per cent. As a result, Grupo Antena 3’s EBITDA and net profit were up compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. Grupo Antena 3 reported an in increase by 70 per cent in operating profits to EUR 46 million (Q4/2008: EUR 27 million) and an in crease by 110 per cent in net profit to EUR 42 million (Q4/2008: EUR 20 million).

Grupo Antena 3 publishes its results for 2009 Grupo Antena 3 − in which RTL Group has a 21.5 per cent shareholding − reported its full year results 2009 which were significantly impacted by Spain’s severe economic downturn.Spain - 18 February 2010


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RTL Television has acquired a “News-Access” package containing daily footage of the most important decisions. Early each morning, the Punkt 6 and Punkt 9 news magazines will announce the night’s winners, and enhance their sports coverage with interviews and colourful stories tying in to one of the world’s biggest sporting events. Punkt 12 will also report on the Olympic games. Reinhard Brings, who is on the ground in the Whistler Mountains, where the Alpine and Nordic disciplines are being fought, will report mainly for the main news shows RTL Aktuell and RTL Nachtjournal.

N-TV is also providing comprehensive cover-age of the first major sporting event of 2010: every morning on Olympia Frühstück – since 12 February and until 1 March – the news channel airs a compact summary of all the major events at the winter games as well as all the events of the previous evening and night. This is rounded off by interviews, daily live feeds from the German camp, and analyses. An outlook on the next day of the Olympics keeps viewers up to date about upcoming competi-tions. The special runs daily from 7:00 to 12:00, after each news programme.

In France, RTL Radio’s special correspondents are reporting on the latest performances of the French athletes. On the first Olympic weekend, RTL Radio particularly followed the exploits of Vincent Jay last Sunday in the 10km biathlon sprint event and Jason Lamy-Chappuis

in the Nordic combined event. These two French athletes, gave their country its first two gold medals. Just after his victory, Vincent Jay admitted to RTL Radio correspondent Jean-Michel Rascol on the air that he was the first to be surprised: “I knew I could do something. From then on, winning an Olympic gold medal was not something I thought about. If someone had said I would be an Olympic champion, I wouldn’t have believed it. I signed on for this, but didn’t really think it would happen. I guess I benefited from the mild weath-er, seized an opportunity and took advantage of it.” Jason Lamy-Chappuis claimed that he only began to understand what had happened to him once he had the medal around his neck and heard the Marseillaise.

Internet users on the RTL.fr site can find all the interviews with athletes and trainers as well as the results and analyses of the major sporting event. Once again RTL Radio invites internet users to share their news photos and videos of the Olympic Games on their site Témoins RTL.

For German internet users who want to learn more about the Olympics online, Sport.de has all information on the Winter Games. The RTL Interactive-produced sports website has a 24-hour live ticker for winter sports enthusiasts, along with breaking news and backgrounders on the German Olympic team, all the results to date and the latest medal count.

Covering the OlympicsRTL Television, N-TV and Sport.de as well as RTL Radio in France provide detailed coverage of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.France / Germany - 17 February 2010

Vincent Jay Jason Lamy-Chappuis


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The fantasy adventure for iPhone and iPod Touch is based on the internationally popular TV series about the young magician Merlin and his friend, the future King Arthur. It takes players to the court of Camelot, where they prove their prowess in the roles of young Merlin and Arthur, vanquishing monsters, finding lost treasures and answering tricky questions.

All graphics are taken from the TV series, which has been shown to great success in more than 180 countries. The second season is already on the airwaves in the US and Great Britain, with season three currently in production. Like the TV series, the Merlin – Das neue Abenteuer app appeals to a broad audience, is easy to get into and captivates young and old users alike. The game will be on sale for EUR 2.99 in the App Store.

Mel Alcock, Regional CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa at FremantleMedia Enterprises commented, “FremantleMedia Enterprises has had great success selling the programme around the world, and our licensing teams globally are looking at ways to complement on-air activity with off-air brand engagement initiatives. Partnering with Intenium enables us to offer Merlin fans everywhere an additional way to connect with the brand.”

Merlin magic mobileIn cooperation with FremantleMedia Licensing Germany, the publisher Intenium Console will bring Merlin – Das neue Abenteuer to the App Store.Germany - 17 February 2010


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FME and Group M, one of the world’s leading media investment agency group, have partnered to secure international distribution for a simulcast to air the We are the World 25 for Haiti video after its world premiere on NBC at the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The move will ensure that the song achieves maximum impact globally in raising money for the Haitian cause.

Recorded on 1 February in the same studio as the original 25 years earlier, the new version, featuring more than 80 artists, was created in collaboration with Grammy-winning producer RedOne, producer/musician Wyclef Jean and producer/musical director Ricky Minor to benefit the Haitian earthquake relief efforts. Academy Award-winning writer-director Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby), whose own personal efforts as well as those of Artists for Peace and Justice have already saved countless lives in Haiti, filmed the private recording session to create the accompa-nying video and “behind-the-scenes” production.

Following the world premiere, fans can now download the song and view exclusive footage from the recording session on the official website: World25.org. Downloads are also available on iTunes, and through a partnership with YouTube, the video will be viewable on the We Are the World 25 YouTube Channel.

Immediate donations will be made possible by clicking on the “Donate Now” button or by downloading the song on iTunes and all proceeds will go directly to the We Are The World Foundation, a newly created not-for-profit organization founded by producer Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie, the producer and co-writer of the iconic 1985 philanthropic anthem We Are The World. Upon its original release, We Are the World quickly became the fastest selling single in history and in the years that have followed, USA for Africa has raised and distributed more than USD 63 million in revenue.

Raising money for HaitiFremantleMedia Enterprises has partnered with media investment agency, Group M, to distribute the We are the World 25 for Haiti video worldwide.United Kingdom - 15 February 2010

World25.org


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Philips Net TV is a new generation of multimedia TV sets that have Internet connectivity. Net TV by Philips provides fast, easy access to numer-ous entertainment and information sites on the Internet, directly from TV’s online start page, which can be selected by pressing a button on the remote control. Net TV in the Netherlands now provides access to RTL Gemist as well, meaning that Net-TV device users can view RTL content 24/7 and watch it on their TV instead of having to switch to their laptop or desktop computers.

RTL Nederland’s technology arm RTL Digital Media have developed a new application specifically for this purpose. Arno Otto, Managing Director of RTL Digital Media, is happy to report that “the quality

and volume of the content we’ve made available on Net TV is very high. RTL Nederland is blazing the trail in this area. We want to help shape the future and be part of it rather than playing catch-up. Our strategy is to be present wherever our viewers are. We are therefore leveraging our expertise and quality to make viewers as well as advertisers an appealing offer.”

Jan-Willem van Wier, Marketing Manager Net TV at Philips Consumer Lifestyle, says: “Philips TV sets deliver an impressive TV experience, which has become even richer through the addition of RTL Gemist. Our customers can now watch their favourite shows again from the comfort of their living-room sofa, without having to involve a laptop or PC.“

RTL Gemist now on Philips Net TVRTL Nederland and Philips have signed an agreement under which RTL Nederland is the first media company in the Netherlands to provide high-quality content for users of the Philips Net TV.Netherlands - 18 February 2010

RTL Gemist within a TV screen


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For a long time, rivers and sea ensured the subsistence of the people of Bangladesh. Now, “the devil’s waters” are killing them. The state, companies, non-governmental organisations and the population are combining their efforts to find solutions to the new climatic dangers. RTL Radio France’s special correspondent Julien Dumond went to investigate and to report.

Bangladesh, four times smaller than France but with three times as many people, is the most densely populated country in the world. It is also the world’s number one country on the scale of climatic risk. According to the Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change, a rise in sea level would swallow up 17 per cent of the total surface area of Bangladesh between now and 2050, making at least 20 million people homeless.

In the first stage of Expédition RTL in Bangladesh, reporter Julien Dumond and technician Philippe Maillet took listeners to the nomadic islands. Located in the northern part of the country on the immense Brahmaputra River, these islands disappear with the rising of the waters. The NGO Friendship Interna-tional manages floating hospitals for the most isolated of them, with Frenchman Yves Marre at the helm. In 1994, he convoyed a barge from France to Bangladesh that he transformed into a floating hospital to bring medical care. Since then, a second hospital boat has been put into operation.

Next, Julien Dumond and Philippe Maillet went to Grameen Shakti, the “green” arm of the Grameen Bank founded by Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Price for his efforts to help the most destitute. In the village of Mawna, Grameen Shakti supplies solar

panels to the residents who do not have access to electricity through microcredit, which gives disadvantaged populations access to bank loans.

On the third day of their expedition, Julien Dumond and Philippe Maillet took a closer look at the terrible problem of arsenic, a veritable scourge in Bangladesh where groundwater is naturally contaminated. Having no choice, inhabitants continue to drink water from poisoned wells. Tens of thousands of people in Bangladesh are sick with pneumopathy or skin cancer. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) predicts up to 20,000 deaths per year in the years to come and the peak has not yet been reached. In collaboration with the Grameen Bank, the French company Veolia inaugurated a water treatment plant less than a year ago, while UNICEF and many other associations are trying to prevent the problem and install filters or arsenic-free wells.

This Expédition RTL was led in partnership with the “Planète” pages of the newspaper Le Monde and was sponsored by Erik Orsenna, member of the Académie française, travel writer and author of L’avenir de l’eau: petit précis de mondialisa-tion, published by Editions Fayard.

Water that killsDuring the month of February Expédition RTL went to Bangladesh, a country where water abounds. France - 16 February 2010

Elias had to drunk arsenic-contaminated water for years © Julien Dumond/Philippe Maillet

World expert on water and arsenic Yan Zen works for UNICEF © Julien Dumond/Philippe Maillet


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The new U-tune.nl platform lets people use their PC to record a song, upload it and share it with other users. The nifty thing is, you don’t have to sing well at all to sound good. The Autotune software changes the voice in such a way that nothing sounds “off”. This tool is used by many professionals in pop music as well, such as Cher and Kanye West.

To record a song, users first have to select a mode: Karaoke, in which case a soft voice remains on the playback track for orientation, or Freestyle. Once they’ve given the website access to their microphone, they can start singing – the playback track starts and it’s time to sing along. If the user likes the finished recording, the new song can be saved and shared with other users – either on the platform itself or via social media like Facebook and Twitter.

U-tune.nl turns everyone into a singerRadio 538 in the Netherlands has teamed up with Pool Worldwide to launch the new karaoke platform U-tune.nl. Thanks to a special software, you don’t even have to be a particularly good singer.Netherlands - 16 February 2010

U-tune.nl

See a video on

Backstage

The best of American cinema on RTLAlways present for important cultural events, RTL Radio France invited

several actors this week. On Friday 19

February, Director Martin Scorsese will

be the special guest on Laissez-vous

tenter. He will spend half an hour in the studio with Vincent Parizot to

talk about his latest film Shutter Island and reminisce about

his career as a director.


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Belgian stations strengthen their leading positionsThe 19th wave for the second half of 2009 reinforces the uncontested number one position of the radio group comprising music station Radio Contact and generalist station Bel RTL in French-speaking Belgium with a record audience share of 36.5 per cent.Belgium - 12 February 2010

This Is It W9 is a partner in the DVD release of the blockbuster film about Michael Jackson, organising a special week dedicated to the King of Pop for the occasion.France - 15 February 2010

Radio on iPhoneRTL Radio’s iPhone application now comes with even more practical content to help users stay on top of the latest news events.France - 15 February 2010

Crowning achievement for M6’s Le Petit Nicolas At the 15th ceremony of the “Lauriers de la radio et de la television”, the prestigious “Laurier de la jeunesse” was awarded to the animated M6 series Le Petit Nicolas. France - 17 February 2010

Audiences soar for Lie to Me in BelgiumOn 16 February in prime time the US series Lie to Me, scored its best audience ratings yet, drawing almost 599,900 viewers, representing a very good audience share of 31.7 per cent audience share. The second episode proved equally popular, with 567,100 viewers for an audience share of 30.4 per cent. France - 15 February 2010

Hrvatska trazi zvijezdu delivers outstanding debut The first episode of Hrvatska trazi zvijezdu season two, the Croatian version of Idols, got off to a superb start with an audience share of 42 per cent among viewers aged 18 to 49. Croatia - 16 February 2010


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FremantleMedia has announced the appoint-ment of Anupama Mandloi as Head of Content for its Indian operations.

Anupama will be based out of Mumbai, reporting in to Saurindra Kumar Barua Raj, Managing Director of FremantleMedia India. In her new role, she will support Raj in furthering production operations in the country, strengthen-ing the team and heading content and develop-ment of properties.

Prior to joining FremantleMedia, Mandloi oversaw the non-fiction department of Star network’s flagship brand Star Plus. Her experience also includes a very successful nine years with Sony Television in various senior creative content and programming roles.

Of her new appointment, Anupama says: “I am very excited at the prospect of joining Fremantle-Media, with whom I have enjoyed several years of association. I have always loved the challenge of setting up large entertainment properties, and FremantleMedia has a formidable catalogue of high quality formats of all sizes, along with the experience and expertise to roll them out to local audiences. I look forward to continuing to grow the company’s presence in India.”

Raj says: “We are delighted that Anupama has decided to join the team and will drive our content strategy in the exciting world of Indian television. India is a priority market for FremantleMedia and a popular destination for many of our hit interna-tional brands. With the support of Anupama, we look forward to offering our clients a complete service delivering world class entertainment to our customers and viewers.”

People

Anupama MandloiIndia - 12 February 2010

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week 07 - rtl groupand big stunts. they offer advice on buying new technology, bring news of the...

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