Bernd Reichart on his first twelve months in charge of Vox

week 6 / 6 February 2014
“THE VOX STYLE”
Bernd Reichart on his first twelve months in charge of Vox
Germany
Frank Hoffmann
on RTL Television’s
programming
The Netherlands
Second adaptation
market for Wentworth
United Kingdom
Great Latin
American year for
FremantleMedia
International
North America
Style Haul expands
to the UK
week 6 / 6 February 2014
“THE VOX STYLE”
Bernd Reichart on his first twelve months in charge of Vox
Germany
Frank Hoffmann
on RTL Television’s
programming
The Netherlands
Second adaptation
market for Wentworth
United Kingdom
Great Latin
American year for
FremantleMedia
International
North America
Style Haul invades
the UK
Cover
Bernd Reichart, Managing Director of Vox
Publisher
RTL Group
45, Bd Pierre Frieden
L-1543 Luxembourg
Editor, Design, Production
RTL Group
Corporate Communications & Marketing
before yo
ink
up
Th
t
rin
backstage.rtlgroup.com
backstage.rtlgroup.fr
backstage.rtlgroup.de
QUICK VIEW
Frank Hoffmann:
“Continue writing the
RTL Television success story”
RTL Television
p. 9–10
The Netherlands:
second adaptation
market for Wentworth
FremantleMedia
Bernd Reichart:
“Television is teamwork”
p. 11
Vox
Great Latin
American year
for FremantleMedia
International
p.4–8
FremantleMedia
International
p. 12
Style Haul
expands to the UK
Big Picture
p.14
Style Haul
p. 13
SHORT
NEWS
p. 15
PEOPLE
p. 16–19
Bernd Reichart has now
been Managing Director
of Vox for one year. In an
interview with Backstage
he takes stock and looks
to the future.
“TELEVISION IS
TEAMWORK”
Germany – 6 February 2014
Vox
Bernd Reichart, Managing Director of Vox
4
Before Bernd Reichart joined Vox as its new
Managing Director on 1 February 2013 he was
Managing Director Multichannel at Atresmedia,
responsible for the free-to-air specialist channels.
In Spain, he kept an eye on other European
television markets. Thanks to the intensive
exchange
within
RTL
Group
he
was
always able to keep tabs on Vox. “I’ve always
observed the work of Vox from a close distance,”
said Reichart a year ago when he was asked about
his move.
Reichart was referring to RTL Group’s Synergy
Committees (Sycos). “In such situations the intense
exchange within the Group pays off,” he says.
“Thanks to the Sycos I knew the programme
structure of Vox quite well. I knew what adjustments
had been made in recent years, how the channel
was positioned, and what the objectives were for
which formats.” When he started work in Cologne
it was very helpful to have this connection with the
channel. “I was given a warm welcome by both
the Vox staff as well as the Mediengruppe’s other
teams,” he says. “My expectations were more than
merely fulfilled.”
Ratings remained stable at Vox in 2013 with an
audience share of 7.3 per cent in the 14 to 59 age
demographic (2012: 7.4 per cent). “We had an
exceptionally good start to the first half of the year,
but couldn’t quite maintain the level in the second
half,” says Reichart. “However, we have improved
our relative position compared to our competitors.
I enjoy the daily challenges of the television
business – measuring ourselves against our rivals
every day is a major incentive. Against this
background, it’s crucial to have a highly motivated
team.”
In September 2013, Vox introduced a new corporate
identity. It was more graphical, more contemporary,
brighter and more clearly structured. The red ball
remains the key visual. “The idea behind it was
more evolution than revolution. We now come from
the same mould on-air and off-air and have unified
the brand for all platforms.” The design of the new
brand management has gone down well. In surveys,
90 per cent of respondents say that the look suits
Vox very well.
Are these the first indications of his own signature
style? “Television is teamwork,” says Reichart. “If
people were to recognise my signature style, I would
have carelessly ignored all the know-how that we
have within Vox. It’s more important that viewers
recognise the Vox style.” The Vox style includes
Saturday night documentaries that are not available
in this form on any other commercial broadcaster in
Germany. In 2013, Die Geschichte des Menschen
(English title: History Of The World), co-produced
with the BBC, was particularly popular with the
audience.
“The
great
documentaries
on
Saturday night are a strong and unique selling
point for Vox,” says Reichart.
Jesus (Diogo Morgado) in Die Bibel
In the spring of 2014, Vox will broadcast the
ten-hour miniseries Die Bibel, which already
earned very good ratings for RTL Televizija in
Croatia and Antena 3 in Spain. The channel has
also had good experiences with four-hour music
documentaries. In 2013 We are the Champions –
40 Jahre Queen and Stayin’ Alive – 50 Jahre Bee
Gees were each watched by over 10 per cent of
the 14 to 59 demographic. “Music will continue to
play a role at Vox,” says Reichart. “Beyond music
documentaries,
we
are
also
developing
entertainment formats in this genre, mainly
focusing on new and original formats.”
Next >
2011
2013
The Vox logo became more contemporary in 2013
5
One of these new formats, launching this spring,
is Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert – a
music event series where seven prominent singers
get together to cover each other’s greatest hits.
The popular German musician and producer Xavier
Naidoo will host the entertaining musical evenings,
and steps into the spotlight himself in one of the
episodes, when his music is the evening’s focus.
“Of course, the format especially lives off the
encounters between the artists, their different styles
of music and the stories that arise in the process,”
says Reichart. “It’s not a talent show, but a music
event series that shows top stars facing an unusual
challenge.”
Die Höhle der Löwen
Die Höhle der Löwen
Vural Öger
Judith Williams
Frank Thelen
Xavier Naidoo, host of Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert
2014 also sees the launch of Die Höhle der Löwen,
based on the British format Dragons’ Den (Shark
Tank in the US), which features young company
founders or inventors presenting their business
ideas to a panel of seasoned, successful
entrepreneurs and investors. In the best-case
scenario, the ‘lions’ will end up investing in the
start-up and thereby help the young businesses
get off the ground. “This format tells emotional,
exciting and above all real-life stories,” says
Reichart. “We want to show how much passion and
heart and soul go into a life’s dream. We want to
make this feeling palpable for the viewer and add in
the chance to make these dreams come true.”
Both formats are strategically important for Vox.
Reichart: “With the help of in-house productions like
these we can further sharpen the channel’s profile
and position it accordingly. They show what we are
and what we stand for.”
Jochen Schweizer
Lencke Wischhusen
In the new Vox format Die Höhle der Löwen
(Dragons’ Den / Shark Tank), people with
innovative inventions or business ideas are
given the opportunity of a lifetime. They must
first, however, convince one or more of the
‘lions’ (dragons) with their idea: the founder
of package tourism in Turkey, Vural Öger;
the queen of European teleshopping,
Judith Williams; the charismatic pioneer of
Ticket Network, Jochen Schweizer; start-up
sector visionary Frank Thelen; or the
representative of the next generation”
of entrepreneurs, Lencke Wischhusen. If
a candidate is able to convince the panel
with their business idea, they will get the
necessary start-up capital or support to
expand their business. In return, the
investors receive shares in the company,
which of course should pay dividends as soon
as possible, because the five entrepreneurs
invest their own capital – and only in the
ideas that wholly convince them. Die Höhle
der Löwen is already in its fifth season in the
US under the title Shark Tank. Already, more
than $23 million have been invested via Shark
Tank and more than 9,000 jobs created in the
process. In the UK the format is know as
Dragons’ Den and is now in its eleventh
season.
Next >
6
The channel’s identity is shaped not only by its
in-house productions, but also by its faces. “Vox
has more on-screen personalities than any other
second-generation broadcaster in Germany,” says
Reichart. Vox’s stars include Steffen Henssler,
Detlef Steves, who is moving from access prime
time to prime time with Detlef muss reisen, Xavier
Naidoo, Daniela Katzenberger, Martin Rütter and
Guido Maria Kretschmer, who won viewers’ hearts
last year with Shopping Queen. On 1 February,
Kretschmer won a ‘Golden Camera’ award in the
“Best Entertainer” category.
Suits
Fridays at 21:15 starting 7 February,
Vox will broadcast the legal drama Suits as
a free-to-air TV premiere. The channel has
been advertising the US hit series since the
beginning of February with a poster campaign
accompanied by cinema and TV trailers,
ads and an extensive online presence. A
large-scale collaboration with the fashion
partner Anson’s sums up the themes of the
US hit series – “fashion meets character”!
This is visualised among other things in
shop-window displays inspired by the series,
giving viewers a first impression of the series’
stylish, ingenious duo: Gabriel Macht (who
plays hotshot lawyer Harvey Specter) and
Patrick J. Adams (who plays the brilliant
aspiring lawyer Mike Ross).
Guido Maria Kretschmer
“Shopping Queen is very successful, both in the
daily afternoon version and in the celebrity version
on Sunday evening,” says Reichart. “What is
particularly remarkable is that we have turned an
afternoon programme that goes out at 15:00 into
a ‘talk of the nation’ format. This shows us that we
have a firm place in the audience’s perception.”
With shows like CSI: NY, Rizzoli & Isles and most
recently Grimm and Arrow, Vox has systematically
grown its reputation as the channel for fiction
series in the past few years. Three evenings a week
– Monday, Wednesday and Friday – Vox shows
quality US series. Its portfolio of series has so far
been mainly shaped by crime. “Last year we opened
up this genre further with series such as Arrow and
Grimm,” says Reichart. “Both represent a type of
series that’s new to Vox, which makes it all the nicer
that they are so well received by the audience that
we were able to expand our target audience.”
On 7 February, Suits is the first major series to
launch on Vox in 2014. “After Vox had already shown
the iconic series Ally McBeal and Boston Legal, we
are the ideal home for Suits,” says Reichart. “The
series has a similar quality, an excellent script and
sparkling dialogue.”
Suits poster campaign
And what are the next items on the Vox agenda?
Reichart: “Our primary goal is that people perceive
us even more as an entertainment channel with
a wide-ranging programme line-up. So basically,
I don’t rule out any genre for Vox.”
These words give an indication of his desire
and determination to continue exploring new and
unusual paths with Vox.
Next >
7
Sing meinen Song – das Tauschkonzert
Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert
is a music event series where seven
prominent singers get together to cover each
other’s greatest hits. They spend time relaxing
together at an exclusive location. Each
evening focuses on one of the artists and
their music. Then their songs are covered
Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert
and the artist chooses the performance that
impressed them the most. No restrictions are set on the creativity of the musical greats when they
perform the covers.
The musician and producer Xavier Naidoo presents the entertaining evenings and is himself spotlighted in
one of the episodes. Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert is a love letter from Xavier Naidoo to music:
“I look forward to spectacular evenings with cool music, excellent conversation and
everything that goes with it!”
Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert is scheduled for spring 2014. Vox’s new music format is produced
by Schwartzkopff TV on behalf of Vox.
Vox promotional campaign for Suits at the fashion retailer Anson’s
8
“CONTINUE WRITING THE
RTL TELEVISION SUCCESS STORY”
RTL Television
In an interview with the German news
magazine Der Spiegel, Frank Hoffmann,
Managing Director of RTL Television, talks
about the ‘Jungle Show’ and gives an outlook
on new developments in the channel’s
programme line-up.
Germany – 4 February 2014
Frank Hoffmann, Managing Director of RTL Television
Commenting on Germany’s ‘talk-of-the-nation’ topic of the past
few weeks – season eight of Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!
(I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here!) – the Managing
Director of RTL Television says: “Let me praise the RTL team
instead, that has nurtured and developed brands like the jungle
camp with the producers over such a long period of time.
Journalists love to call for innovation. Yet it is just as great an art to
keep breathing new life into well-loved programmes. I am grateful to
my predecessors for keeping the jungle camp even though there was
initially a lot of pressure from the press, and interest among advertisers
was limited at first.”
Sonja Zietlow and Daniel Hartwich, presenters of
Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!
At last summer’s presentation of the channel’s upcoming
programmes, Hoffmann had promised a line-up with more relevance.
“What was meant is that we want to follow the viewers’ evident wish
for more relevance in the programming,” explained Hoffmann and
cites examples including Mario Barth deckt auf, in which the comedian
uncovers cases of misspent taxes; Das Jenke-Experiment and Team
Wallraff. This year also marks the debut of the new series Reset, which
accompanies the journey of paraplegics who have been given a slim
chance of being able to walk again.
9
RTL Samstag Nacht
Hoffmann also announced a lot of new formats in Fiction. “This is
not about my handwriting, but about continuing RTL Television’s
success story. We’re working on promising ideas in all genres,” says
Hoffmann. One project is the screen adaptation of the biography
Hitlers erster Krieg (Hitler’s First War) by historian Thomas Weber,
probably to be broadcast in 2016. “We strive to pick up on German
topics,” declared Hoffmann. Another project that falls into this category
is Die Witwenmacher (The Widow-Makers) about the Starfighter
affair in the 1970s. Also, on 3 February the miniseries Deutschland!
for RTL Television was announced. It is based on the story of a
Germany divided in 1983 – the year in which the world teetered on
the brink of a nuclear disaster.
RTL Television is also planning a new comedy series with
Jan Böhmermann and Palina Rojinski, a weekly comedy show
with Kaya Yanar, and another show with young comedians that will
hopefully build on the success of RTL Samstag Nacht.
In closing, Frank Hoffmann was asked whether Helmut Thoma’s
quip that the worm has to taste good to the fish and not to the
fisherman still holds true for RTL Television. Hoffmann replied:
“It’s been a long time since our programming would have
fit that description. That attitude would, for example, make
it impossible to make good news shows, which always
contain reports that don’t suit everyone’s tastes. I prefer
what Günther Jauch once said: ‘RTL Television wears its skirts a
bit shorter.’ Today, I feel we are appropriately dressed for any
occasion.”
10
SECOND ADAPTATION MARKET FOR WENTWORTH
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia’s Four One Media will
produce a local version of the global
Australian hit prison drama Wentworth. The
Dutch-language remake, entitled Celblok-H,
will premiere on SBS 6 in March 2014.
The Netherlands – 6 February 2014
Based on the successful FremantleMedia Australia (FMA) series,
the compelling and emotional Celblok-H sees the faithful reproduction
of all ten original scripts transported into a Dutch setting. Based
on Wentworth’s international success, the adaptation will follow
the same gritty story of survival, rivalry, power struggles and unlikely
allegiances within a female prison.
Eva van de Wijdeven as ‘Freddy’ in Celblok-H
Willem Zijlstra, CEO of Four One Media commented: “The gripping
scripts of Wentworth and the characters that inhabit the correctional
institution make compelling stories no matter where they are in the
world. It has been a joy to take the original scripts and to see them
come to life in a completely new environment. I’ve no doubt that Dutch
viewers will be as hooked with the show as audiences all over the
world have been.”
The FMA drama airs on Foxtel Australia and is currently in
production for its second season in Melbourne. In January, FMA
and Foxtel announced that a third season of the show had been
commissioned – even before season two had aired. The third
season of Wentworth is scheduled to go into production in March
2014, shortly after filming on season two has wrapped. The Australian
version has attracted international interest and has, to date, been sold
to over 20 markets. Towards the end of 2013, Germany was
announced as the first territory to make a local version of the
show, with production planned for Berlin in March 2014 and to air on
RTL Television.
Since launching in Australia in early 2013, this graphic, edgy
reboot became the most-watched non-sports programme in
Australian subscription television history ever; while in the UK, the
series became the number one prime time Australian drama in the UK
since 2002.
Celblok-H will premiere on Monday, 3 March on SBS 6.
11
GREAT LATIN AMERICAN YEAR
FOR FREMANTLEMEDIA INTERNATIONAL
FremantleMedia International
The Idols brand will be adapted for the
Colombian Market for the first time, whilst
a local version of Got Talent gets a fifth
season in Chile.
United Kingdom – 31 January 2014
Exclusive deal with Young Hollywood
FMI has also signed a content deal with
US multimedia entertainment company
Young Hollywood, covering all of the
digital entertainment pioneer’s half-hour
and hour-long programming.
Commenting on the deal, Hayley Dickson,
Vice President, Television Acquisitions and
Development, Global Content FMI, says:
“Young Hollywood is one of the world’s
largest independent producers of exclusive
premium celebrity video programming, with
an unparalleled track record for discovering
the next generation of Hollywood stars
and we’re delighted to have secured this
first-look deal with them.”
Idol Colombia is set to premiere on RCN TV, the leading private
Colombian television network, in spring 2014, becoming the 47th local
version of Idols to be produced worldwide. In addition, the Got Talent
format has been re-commissioned for a fifth localized version, Talento
Chileno, by Chilean TV station Chilevision.
Got Talent will also get a prolonged stay in the Caribbean. CNC-3,
a television station privately owned by Guardian Media Limited
serving Trinidad and Tobago, together with Sony Pictures Television
Networks in Latin America, will continue to transmit the Got Talent
format with a local version of season nine premiering during 2014.
Sheila Aguirre, Senior Vice President, Sales and Development Latin
America, Caribbean and Hispanic USA, FremantleMedia International
(FMI) says: “We continue to offer diverse content and formats that
meet the needs of a wide range of broadcasters, and remain dedicated
to building our business within the [Latin American] region.”
Other FMI sales in Latin America include Tattoo Nightmares to
Tru TV, a pan-regional pay TV feed, and Storage Wars Canada to
A&E Networks.
FMI currently has distribution rights to two
of Young Hollywood’s long-format shows,
Young Hollywood’s Greatest... and Young
Hollywood Presents Evolution Of...
Talento Chileno
12
STYLE HAUL EXPANDS TO THE UK
Style Haul
The Youtube multi-channel fashion and
beauty network expands outside the US,
while launching new shows and hiring key
talent for its new London offices.
North America – 24 January 2014
Stylehaul.com
The company recently named James Stafford, formerly Head
of Branded Content for Youtube Europe, as VP Europe for the
recently launched Style Haul UK. Style Haul has also made deals
with influential British video blogs BeautyCrush, MarcusButlerTV,
Alfie (aka PointlessBlog), CasparLee and ThatcherJoe.
The UK expansion, which has had substantial financial backing from
big corporations, including RTL Group in May 2013, is in part the result
of successful branded entertainment catered to Style Haul’s key target:
over 115 million millennial Youtube subscribers.
What began as an organic trend among fashion bloggers endorsing
brand products a few years ago, has now become a consolidated
digital multi-channel empire, focusing on instructional beauty and
shopping content, with more than 3,700 channels in over 60 countries.
In an article featured on Adweek.com in January, Style Haul’s Chief
Revenue Officer Alison Kennedy explains: “We think there is such a
big opportunity in the UK. Content marketing in Europe is not booming
yet. And there’s a massive gap between the five biggest stars in beauty
and fashion and the rest.”
Style Haul’s Chief Revenue Officer Alison Kennedy
Recent examples of Style Haul’s aforementioned successful content
marketing include last fall’s Macy’s campaign. The videos look like
any other clips young vloggers produce but feature Macy’s branding
and products. “These are true native ads,” says Kennedy. “And the
engagement numbers we’re seeing are off the charts. In some cases,
30 to 40 percent of people are sharing or commenting.”
Meanwhile, even as branded content emerges as the company’s
core revenue driver, Style Haul is pushing into original scripted
content. The company recently signed a 10-series, two-year deal
with FremantleMedia North America. The first show to result from
that pact is The Crew, a UK series that went live earlier in January
2014.
The Crew
RTL Group has a minority stake holding in Style Haul.
13
Melanie Müller is the new
‘Queen of the Jungle’
A total of 8.60 million viewers tuned in to
RTL Televison for the finale of Ich bin ein Star – Holt
mich hier raus! (I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here!)
on 1 February – a new seasonal record for the show.
Melanie Müller scored 60 per cent of the audience
votes, making her the new Queen.
SHORT NEWS
1/1
The German TV market in January 2014
RTL Television
Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s channels collectively scored
32.2 per cent of the 14- to 59-year-old viewer market in January,
putting them a clear 7.6 percentage points ahead of the ProSiebenSat1
channels (24.6 per cent).
Germany – 4 February 2014
The French TV market in January 2014
Groupe M6
In January 2014, M6 recorded a total audience share of 10.6 per cent.
W9 is the DTT leader among viewers under 50 with a 4.2 per cent
audience, while 6ter began the year with a record month for new
DTT channels, attracting an audience share of 1.1 per cent of
housewives under 50.
France – 6 February 2014
The Dutch TV market in January 2014
RTL Nederland
In January 2014, RTL Nederland achieved a combined audience
share of 33.4 per cent in the target group of shoppers aged 20 to
49 (January 2013: 32.3 per cent) and thus remained ahead of the
public service broadcasters (25.2 per cent) and the SBS Group
(20.0 per cent).
The Netherlands – 5 February 2014
Abbé Pierre’s appeal
RTL Radio
On 1 February 1954, during the extremely harsh winter that hit northern
France, Abbé Pierre launched an appeal, live on Radio Luxembourg,
on behalf of the homeless. This call for help on the air, followed by an
unprecedented surge of generosity, has been etched in history.
France – 31 January 2014
413,500 music albums sold
RTL Special Marketing
2013 was a record year for music album sales for subsidiary
RTL Special Marketing in France. Selling 413,500 albums, it passed
the 400,000-unit mark for the third time in its history, as it did in 2011
and 2012.
France – 3 February 2014
15
PEOPLE
FRANÇOIS
MASQUELIER
RTL Group
Luxembourg – 5 February 2014
François Masquelier, Senior Vice President Treasury
and Corporate Finance of RTL Group, has additionally
been entrusted with leading the Group’s Enterprise Risk
Management (ERM), effective immediately. In his capacity
as SVP Treasury & Corporate Finance and Enterprise Risk
Management, he will continue to report to Elmar Heggen,
Chief Financial Officer of RTL Group.
In addition to his current Treasury & Corporate
Finance responsibilities, François Masquelier will
be responsible for developing the Group’s risk
management framework and ensuring the Group’s
risk reporting, under the supervision of the Group Risk
Management
Committee
(RMC)
headed
by
Elmar Heggen. François Masquelier will collaborate
with the Group’s affiliates and co-ordinate with
Group Audit & Compliance, Group Controlling and
Group IT to develop policies and procedures geared at
mitigating identified risks, and will coordinate the
development and implementation of the related
measures. François Masquelier will furthermore
represent RTL Group on ERM-related matters at the
Bertelsmann Group level.
François Masquelier
Elmar Heggen comments: “The increasing regulatory
scrutiny and growing diversification and complexity of our
businesses need to be addressed with enhanced ERM
processes. François has successfully built and managed
the Group’s corporate finance function since 1997, and
is well positioned to lead its further development and to
contribute to the Group’s continuous efforts for higher
efficiency and compliance in this area.”
François Masquelier says: “I am really pleased to be
entrusted with this expanded role and am grateful for
the confidence and support placed in me by our CFO.
I believe there are many opportunities for enhancing
risk management for the benefit of the Group’s various
businesses. Together with my team, I look forward to
working with colleagues across the Group on this new
mission, and to jointly addressing the challenges ahead.”
16
PEOPLE
VINCENT
PASCAUD
RTL Group
Luxembourg – 6 February 2014
RTL Group has appointed Vincent Pascaud to the newly
created role of Senior Vice President Group IT, effective
immediately. He will report directly to Elmar Heggen, Chief
Financial Officer of RTL Group.
Vincent Pascaud will continue to lead the Group
Transactions & Reporting Systems (GTRS) team and
manage the development of RTL Group’s “Referenced
Applications” (of which SAP and BOFC) for RTL Group
business units. Under the authority of the Group’s CFO,
he will also be responsible for coordinating the “business
support” IT applications’ strategy for RTL Group and its
controlled entities. Moreover, he will work closely with the
business units to develop a group-wide IT governance
framework and implement Information Security (IS)
policies. Vincent Pascaud will also serve as Vice
Chairman of the RTL Group’s IT Governance
Committee
and
represent
RTL
Group
at
Bertelsmann-level on IT Governance and IS-related
matters.
Vincent Pascaud
Elmar Heggen said: “Over the past several years,
Vincent has played an instrumental role in the
development and roll-out of the Referenced Applications
platform across the Group. I am delighted that he
has agreed to take up this additional role and I am
sure he will successfully lead the effort to align the IT
applications strategy across the roup and to further
improve IT governance and efficiency.”
Vincent Pascaud said: “I am delighted about being
entrusted this expanded role, which builds on the
GTRS’ team achievements and learnings, when it
comes to combining project- and support delivery with a
consistent overarching framework. My new mission is
complementary to GTRS, and will focus on fostering
IT compliance and on coordinating the adoption of
IT best practices and IS guidelines across the Group.
I look forward to working with the IT managers of all
business units on these increasingly important matters
for RTL Group’s sustained success.”
17
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
JONATHON
SUMMERHAYES
BETH
HART
FremantleMedia Australia
Australia – 3 February 2014
FremantleMedia Australia (FMA) has announced two
executive creative appointments. Jonathon Summerhayes
is now Director of Programming, reporting to FMA CEO
Ian Hogg. Beth Hart, reporting to Summerhayes, is
Director of Television Content. Both appointments are
effective immediately.
Summerhayes will oversee the creative and production
processes for all of FMA’s entertainment and factual
programming. As Director of Television Content, Hart will
focus on new and existing entertainment brands such as
Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars, Grand Designs and
The Apprentice, to ensure that FMA continues to tell fresh
and compelling stories.
Ian Hogg, FMA CEO, comments: “Both Jonathon and
Beth are outstanding creative professionals and have
unparalleled peer recognition. Their appointments signal
an important step change in our creative credentials and I
am confident that both will bring fresh thinking and ideas
and a new energy to the business. FremantleMedia has
some of the world’s best story-tellers in the business. It’s
a formidable creative team that will ensure the company’s
continued success in producing entertaining, engaging,
fresh content.”
Beth Hart
For the past three years, Beth Hart has been the Senior
Executive Producer of the UK’s incredibly successful and
ground-breaking The X Factor. During this time Hart also
held the position of Deputy Head of Entertainment with
Thames / Syco Productions. Prior to this, Hart was an
EP at UK production company ITV Studios for five years,
running huge entertainment hits I’m A Celebrity Get Me
Out Of Here! and Hell’s Kitchen.
Jonathon Summerhayes adds: “It’s really an exciting
time to be in the television business and I am thrilled
to now be leading such a talented team of creative and
production professionals.”
Beth Hart adds: “FMA is producing some world-class
and ground-breaking entertainment formats and I am
really excited to be joining the team and bringing my UK
experience and ideas to the table.”
Jonathon Summerhayes has been with FMA for seven
years, most recently, as an Executive Producer with
The X Factor for three years. With Summerhayes at the
helm, the show has had four consecutive years of ratings
growth. Prior to The X Factor, he was Executive Producer
of The Biggest Loser and Co-Executive Producer of
Master Chef.
18
PEOPLE
MEREL
WESTRIK
RTL Nederland
The Netherlands – 4 February 2014
Journalist Merel Westrik is joining RTL Nederland’s
RTL Nieuws team. Her first on-screen appearance is
scheduled for early April, to coincide with the inauguration
of the new studio.
Merel Westrik, 34, started her journalistic career in 2001
as a trainee at the Amsterdam-based television channel
AT5. During her time there, she gained experience in the
various disciplines of the television business, such as
editing, reporting and presenting. In September 2011, she
left to join the public broadcaster WNL where she has
since hosted the morning programme Vandaag de Dag
on NL 1, presenting the daily news and commenting on
current events ranging from politics to sports and crime to
entertainment.
Merel Westrik
© Talentkitchen
Merel Westrik on her appointment: “After three seasons
of ‘opening the day’ on NL1 with the programme Vandaag
de Dag, it’s time to take a new step. RTL is an excellent
news organisation with journalists who made their marks
as young talents, each day bringing what’s happening in
the world to viewers. I am thrilled to become part of that
team. I see it as an honour to be joining Rick Nieman in
informing viewers on what’s happening in our country and
abroad.”
Harm Taselaar, editor-in-chief of RTL Nieuws, adds:
“In my opinion Merel is one of the biggest talents out there
when it comes to news and current events. Needless to
say I am happy she is joining us. I foresee good times
ahead for RTL Nieuws.”
19
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