The last `goodie bag`

8 April 2010
week
The last ‘goodie bag’
How the infotainment magazine Stern TV has shaped
the German TV landscape for 20 years
Germany
France
Angela Merkel visits
RTL Television
M6 Replay: catch-up
TV champion
N-TV has the most popular
news app
Greece
Alpha TV ratings grow
steadily
14
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
8 April 2010
week
14
Cover:
Günther Jauch during one of the first editions of Stern TV in 1990
The last ‘goodie bag’
How the infotainment magazine Stern TV has shaped
the German TV landscape for 20 years
Germany
France
2
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
“Serious information,
exciting reports,
spot-on advice”
Günther Jauch interviewing Mikhail Gorbatchev
Stern TV is arguably the most popular current
events TV magazine on German television and
has now been on air for 20 years – but in fact,
to begin with, the magazine wasn’t actually
planned as such. Helmut Thoma, then CEO
of RTL Television, wanted to establish another
“face” for RTL Television alongside Thomas
Gottschalk. “At the time I had become somewhat
painted into the ‘entertainment’ corner in publicservice broadcasting,” Günther Jauch recalls.
“So I said yes to Thoma on the condition that
they would let me do a journalistic magazine –
and Stern TV was born.” The magazine started
as a half-hour programme and is currently on air
for nearly two hours each week.
The first live show with Günther Jauch hit
German TV screens on 4 April 1990. He doesn’t
like to think back to this moment despite the
show’s success – because criticism rained
down from all sides. “Take your foot off the
accelerator, Günther,” broadsheet Süddeutsche
Zeitung recommended. Twenty years later,
Jauch agrees with their assessment: “The critics
Stern TV has been one of the most-watched
current-event weeklies on German television for
20 years. Günther Jauch about the secret to its
long-running success.
Germany - 8 April 2010
were − just this once, of course − completely
right. We delivered a half-hour that was as hectic
as it was high-strung…and it didn’t take long for
me not to like it myself any more,” says Jauch.
“It took some time before we hit our stride and
found our style. But after that, things really have
always gone well.”
Günther Jauch has welcomed more than 7,000
guests to his studio in over 900 shows, including
celebrities like Mikhail Gorbachev, Angela
Merkel and Michael Schumacher. “Twenty years
ago, no one would have thought it possible that
Stern TV would be able to do so well for more
than two decades in a constantly changing TV
market. Stern TV is one of the last ‘goodie bags’
on television.” According to Jauch, the secret to
success lies in the broad range of topics that
can be covered in the show. “Our secret may
well be that, basically, ‘anything goes’ for the
programme,” he says. “Serious information,
exciting reports, spot-on advice, the courage
to be off-the-wall or humorous. But above
all: the fun of a live show, something that has
In 2006, Günther Jauch had a shot at being a sumo wrestler, fighting World Champion Sandra Köppen during the show
3
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
Mika Häkkinen, Günther Jauch and Michael Schumacher (from left to right)
become practically exotic on television. For me
as its presenter, this makes the show an exciting
weekly challenge even after twenty years. “
The magazine has repeatedly presented humaninterest stories that moved millions of TV viewers
deeply. The Stern TV cameras were there when
Siamese twins Lea and Tabea, conjoined at
the head, were separated from each other in a
dramatic surgery. Stern TV also accompanied
3-year-old Nils when he received the donor’s
heart that saved his life. Nor has the magazine
shied away from controversial issues in its 20
years on the air. It used a hidden camera to
expose dirty dealings with child pornography,
and infiltrated the extremely dangerous dogfight
scene. Naturally, Günther Jauch has his own
personal highlights from 20 years of Stern
TV. “When Germany was finally reunited, we
succeeded in luring Mikhail Gorbachev away
from a big business dinner, which promised to
be rather boring for him, into a big appearance
on our show – live and somewhat unplanned,”
Jauch recalls, and still grins at the memory.
“We also forced a former vice chancellor –
Jürgen Möllemann – to resign with a story
about advertising for shopping-cart chips. That
doesn’t exactly outshine all the other shows, but
it does stick in the memory even years later.”
For the past ten years, Jauch has not only
moderated the show, but has also produced
it with his own production firm ‘Information
and Unterhaltung’. “I daresay there is no other
magazine that has the same kind of freedom of
form and content as we do. No one tells us what
to do,” Günther Jauch told in an interview with
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS).
“That is an incredible privilege in television,
which is absolutely teeming with financial
controllers, market researchers and CD sellers.
Stern TV regularly runs product tests. And there
are advertising customers who are not amused
by negative results. The channel is fully behind
us and lets us test what we want.”
Last year, Stern TV attracted an average 19.7
per cent of 14- to 49-year-old viewers, which
puts it above the channel average. On 7 April at
22:15, RTL Television aired the 20th anniversary
special featuring highlights from 900 episodes
of Stern TV. 1.63 million viewers aged 14 to
49 tuned in to celebrate with Günther Jauch,
representing an audience share of 17.4 per cent.
“The programme is very elaborately made and
expensive,” Jauch told the FAS, recaping the
changes that have been made over the past
two decades. “One thing that has changed is
our viewing habits – partly because computers
allow you to set your own pace. The perceived
tempo has changed completely. Seen from this
angle, the show may have become somewhat
anachronistic. If you were to pitch it as a new
concept today – even to the public-service
broadcasters – you wouldn’t be able to push it
through.“
4
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
Visiting RTL Television
Angela Merkel
A very relaxed and at times highly entertaining
Angela Merkel paid a keenly anticipated visit to
RTL Television in Cologne.
Belgium - 2 April 2010
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel
shared many political as well as some personal
insights. Following a conversation with Anke
Schäferkordt and Peter Kloeppel, she went on
to answer political and personal questions from
the news team in an extensive Q&A session
in the RTL Aktuell editorial offices, keeping
everyone well entertained in the process.
Who would have thought, for instance, that
Angela Merkel quite often chooses to relax
to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in her rare
spare time? She also likes to watch RTL Aktuell
when the opportunity arises. And how down to
earth can a chancellor be? In Merkel’s case,
one learned that even a top-level politician can
be adamant about doing her own shopping
at the weekend in order to cook her husband
his favourite meal. This might make her sound
almost like just another citizen – if it weren’t for
the big political issues like Greece’s problems
in the EU, the unemployment figures, relations
with Turkey and questions about the coalition.
Anke Schäferkordt, Angela Merkel and Peter Kloeppel
(from left to right)
Merkel’s visit ended with an interview with
RTL Nachtjournal’s Christof Lang on current
issues such as fuel prices, unemployment,
bank levies and the coalition with the liberal
party FDP.
Angela Merkel told political, but also some personal anecdotes
5
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
An up-to-date and
timely news offering
The readers of Horizont.net voted N-TV mobile
app Germany’s best news app. The popular
application is now available for the Blackberry
as well.
Hans Demmel
Germany - 2 March 2010
Horizont is a German weekly trade publication
for marketing communications, advertising and
media – and its Web site is Horizont.net. 40.2
per cent of Horizont.net users have voted for
the app published by the news channel N-TV as
their favourite. The N-TV app came in ahead of
the Financial Times Deutschland (30.8 per cent)
and Stern.de (8.5 per cent) apps, both of which
are published by Gruner + Jahr. So the top
three apps in the reader voting are all from the
Bertelsmann group. The app of N-TV’s direct
competitor N24 came in sixth, scoring 2.4 per
cent of the votes, while the Welt app brought up
the rear with 1.1 per cent of votes. Readers were
asked to choose their favourite from 10 news
apps, from 1 to 26 March.
“We are delighted about the great popularity of
our mobile application. It is an up-to-date and
timely news offering that ideally complements
our TV and online site,” comments Hans
Demmel, managing director of N-TV. “The
download figures for our new BlackBerry app
show that we cater precisely to the needs of our
viewers, who like to be well informed wherever
they happen to be.”
N-TV’s popular mobile app has been available
for the BlackBerry since 1 April, so now iPhone
as well as BlackBerry users can stay abreast of
the latest news in business, politics, sport and
the weather − in texts, pictures and video. The
push function ensures that Breaking News are
immediately delivered to the user’s BlackBerry.
Another plus: users can put together their own
individual menu. The N-TV mobile app runs on
all devices for which there is a firmware version
4.5, and may be downloaded from www.n-tv.
de/blackberry. It has already been downloaded
some 50,000 times since its launch last week.
A free app for the iPhone and iPod Touch has
been available from the Apple App Store since
November 2009, and has been downloaded
around 400,000 times to date.
The N-TV app on iPhone and Blackberry
6
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
Sweeping campaign
RTL Creation has launched an extensive on- and
off-air campaign to promote the new season of
the glamorous show highlight Let’s Dance.
Quickstep or Dancing Fool?
Germany - 6 April 2010
The off-air campaign is comprised of billboards
and print ads. Their large-scale motifs show
couples executing sophisticated dance moves
in front of the RTL Television logo. Passionate,
dynamic dance moves also dominate the City
Light poster motifs, which feature elaborate
dance costumes in the broadcaster’s signature
colours and slogans like “Mambo or Rambo?”,
“Quickstep or Dancing Fool?” and “Twist or
Rubbish?“ spark viewers’ curiosity about the
celebrities’ dancing prowess in the live shows.
The outdoor ad campaign runs from 30 March
to 15 April, while the print ads have been run
since 1 March.
The on-air campaign includes silhouette
teasers showing a couple seen only in outline
dancing in front of a glamorously glittering RTL
Television logo. There are also trailers featuring
the moderators apparently floating through
space on dance step instructions. Promotional
trailers and image trailers pick up on the
idea of the City Light poster motif. The on-air
campaign launched on 13 March 2010, and
trailers featuring the candidates and the judges
have been added since the beginning of April.
From 6 April to 9 April commercials will also be
shown on info-screens in big German cities, and
RTL.de launched a Let’s Dance online special
on 1 April.
Let’s Dance poster
7
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
Going to court
Nicolas de Tavernost
Groupe M6 has filed a complaint to France’s
highest court over regulators’ approval of TF1’s
acquisitions of two TV channels, Nicolas de
Tavernost told the newspaper Les Echos
in an interview.
France - 7 April 2010
Nicolas de Tavernost, Chairman of the Management Board of Groupe M6, said that Groupe M6
would do everything it could to contest the deal,
which will allow TF1 to expand its presence in
digital free-to-air channels by acquiring the two
channels TMC and NT1. “This decision is a
serious error of TV sector regulation. This takeover has strengthened an operator who already
occupies a dominant position, thereby exposing the general French TV market to risks,” de
Tavernost said.
The Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA),
which regulates broadcast TV in France,
approved TF1’s purchase of the two channels
on 24 March 2010, imposing eight conditions
on the group that it said were intended to blunt
any negative impact of the deal. Tavernost said
that the conditions the CSA imposed on TF1
are not going far enough. “First of all, they are
temporary. Secondly they do nothing to resolve
the key issue, namely TF1’s dominant position,”
he said. “Requiring NT1 to air a weekly cultural
programme will in no way change the crucial
issues determining the balance in the sector:
pluralism and operator diversity.”
8
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
And the Top Chef of
2010 is…
The finale of Top Chef drew 4.3 million viewers
and an audience share of 28.8 per cent among
housewives under 50.
France - 6 April 2010
Since its first broadcast on 22 February,
Top Chef the culinary show presented by
Sandrine Corman and Stéphane Rotenberg,
has performed brilliantly on the French
channel, and the last show was no exception.
For the first challenge in the Top Chef grand
finale, the four contestants had to rise at
2:00 in the morning to do their food
shopping at Rungis, the largest market in
Europe, and then cook either a cut of meat or
a fish found there. At the end of this first test,
it was Alexandre who was eliminated. The
remaining three contestants then had to
prepare an entrée, main course and dessert for
a famous caterer. As with the first challenge,
one of the contestants was forced to relinquish
dreams of victory: Brice.
Romain Tischenko, winner of Top Chef 2010
The final event for the remaining two contestants
consisted of preparing a menu for 100 people,
which involved 300 dishes to arrange – and
10 hours to do it. For this last test it was not the
usual panel of judges voting – Ghislaine Arabian,
Jean-François Piège, Christian Constant and
Thierry Marx – but the viewers. The winner in
this ultimate challenge was Romain, who leaves
with the “Top Chef 2010” toque and the sum of
EUR 100,000.
9
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
Catch-up TV champion
M6 Replay has established itself as the leader in catch-up TV, in usage and
as the best catch-up TV service, in the eyes of the French.
France - 2 April 2010
According to the Global TV study carried out
by Médiamétrie on viewers over the age of
15, around ten million French viewers already
occasionally availed themselves of the various
options for watching TV programmes online.
Half of them (51.5 percent) turn to M6 Replay.
Nowadays, M6 offers the largest selection of
programmes on catch-up TV, with 88 per cent
of its programme schedule in the 17:00 to 24:00
time slot. Another survey – the “Etude NPA” –
also yielded gratifying results for Groupe M6:
When asked “What do you think is the best
catch-up TV service?” 42 percent of those
surveyed replied: “M6 Replay.”
Inaugurated in 2008, M6 Replay enjoys wide
distribution. Initially launched on PC, the service
was then quickly developed for a wide range
of media, including computer, television and
mobile.
M6Replay.fr
Popular and positive
For W9’s 5th anniversary, the presenters on France’s number one DTT
channel celebrated the event in true fashion, with humour and emotion.
France - 7 April 2010
Launched on 31 March 2005, W9 established
itself as leading DTT channel in France within
a very short period of time – and its growth
continues. With a total audience share of 2.7
per cent, W9 is already the 8th most-watched
channel in France. Since its creation, W9 enjoys
incredible popularity and holds a positive image
among viewers.
From 27 March to 2 April, Stéphane Rotenberg,
Alexandre Devoise, François Pêcheux, Vincent
Desagnat, Benjamin Morgaine and Daphné
Desjeux paid tribute to W9, sharing their
favourite memories since the channel was
launched, on Camille Combal’s programme
Azap. Also shown were excerpts from videos
showing W9’s emblematic presenters at the age
of five, as imagined by the channel. Even back
then, one could see they were destined for TV
Land and the path that would lead them to W9
had already been marked out…
10
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
Steady growth
Lakis Lazopoulos and Eleni Menegaki
Following steady growth since the beginning
of the year, Alpha TV attained the number-two
position during prime time in March with an
audience share of 18.8 per cent, behind Mega
(20.2 per cent) but ahead of Antenna (18.3 per
cent).
Since the start of the current TV season, Alpha
is the only channel to show year-on-year growth
in audience share. Alpha TV’s scored an average
all-day audience share of 14.8 per cent – an
increase of 15.6 per cent compared to the same
period in 2009. In prime time, Alpha’s average
audience share actually increased by 53 per
cent compared to the same period last year,
reaching 17.3 per cent.
Alpha TV in Greece grew its audience shares
once more, and was the country’s number-two
channel during prime time in March.
Greece - 8 April 2010
“This is the result of our consistent strategy
of offering quality programmes,” wrote Alpha
Media Group CEO Christoph Mainusch in a
letter to the employees. “Not only can we count
on the performance of our daytime programmes
with the flagship Coffee with Eleni, but we have
also seen the great success of our returning
brands like Al Tsantiri, Pame Paketo and Chart
Show.”
Later this spring, Alpha TV will be launching new
shows like the live shows of Greek Idol, All about
Greek Idol and the lifestyle magazine Exclusive.
STD: Season-to-date
In prime time, Alpha’s average audience share actually increased by 53 per cent compared to the same period last year
11
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
Awards in March
Eva Habermann presented Das sind meine British Virgin Islands
At this year’s TV Crime Festival in Wiesbaden,
the “German TV Crime Award” was once again
presented. On 6 March Bella Block – Vorsehung,
a film produced by UFA Fernsehproduktion for
ZDF, was named the best German TV crime
movie. The actor Wotan Wilke Möhring, the
film’s producer Cornelia Wecker and ZDF editor
Pit Rampelt accepted the rather unusual prize of
1,000 litres of wine. In addition to the main prize,
the film also won the reader’s choice award of
the readers of the regional Wiesbadener Kurier
newspaper. This was the first time in the history
of the festival that the judges and the audience
independently picked the same film as their
favourite.
The N-TV feature Das sind meine British Virgin
Islands won the Caribbean Journalists’ Award
2009 at the ITB in Berlin. The report about
the Caribbean isles, aired as part of N-TV’s
Christmas 2009 programming, prevailed over
rival programmes such as Verliebt in Saba
(ZDF-Infokanal) and Saint Lucia (Sky) in the
category ‘TV & Radio’. The “Caribbean Tourism
Organisation” judges were particularly taken
by the brilliant images and the broad range of
information presented to whet viewers’ appetite
for travel.
The Pietshow
Several RTL Group companies won prizes in
March, including UFA Fernsehproduktion for
Bella Block – Vorsehung and N-TV for its
feature Das sind meine British Virgin Islands.
Luxembourg - 7 April 2010
“Highly trustworthy thanks to certified quality,
security and transparency” was the verdict
reached by the Tüv experts following a
thorough review of Super RTL’s two educational
online clubs for children, Toggo – Clever Club
and Toggolino Club. Tüv-Süd bestowed
its ‘s@fer-website’ quality seal on the two
portals. In order to receive the coveted Tüv seal,
the clubs were put through their paces in a threestep procedure, and subjected to numerous
security checks. User-friendliness was a focus
of the review, alongside data security and
privacy protection.
The Pietshow, which Grundy UFA produces for
the German social networks Mein VZ and Studi
VZ, was nominated for an ‘International Digital
Emmy Award’, as was the online comedy Print
Friends by FMX. The Digital Emmys will be
presented in Cannes on 12 April.
Lippels Traum, the screen adaptation of Paul
Maar’s classic novel for young adults, has
been nominated for the German Film Award
in the category ‘Full-length children’s movies’.
Lippels Traum is a Collina Film production, and
opened in theatres in autumn 2009, distributed
by Universum Film. Camerawoman Jana Marsik
was nominated in the category ‘Best Camera/art
work’ for her work on the film. She has already
won a Bavarian Film Award for best art work for
Lippels Traum and Same same but different.
12
A big kiss
Television will
on
On 13 April, RTL
part of the seas
air the second se season 6. During
premiere to HouMayfield Psychiatric
his stay at the gory House kisses
Hospital, Gre e German actress
y th
Lydia, played b . 24.8 per cent of the
te
en
ot
P
to
Franka
to 49 tuned in
viewers aged 14e first part.
watch th
the RTL Group intranet
week 14
The Dutch TV market in March
In March, RTL Nederland’s channels attracted 33.4 per cent of their 20- to 49-year-old
target market, coming in well ahead of the public-service broadcasters (27.8 per cent)
and the SBS group (25.4 per cent).
Netherlands - 2 April 2010
Beating audience records
With a 28.9 per cent total audience share during prime time (17:00 to 23:00)
in March 2010, Belgian channel RTL-TVI registered its best month since 1997.
Belgium - 6 April 2010
Launching marketing activities
Ad Audience, the German joint venture founded on 25 January by the advertising
sales houses, IP Deutschland, G+J Electronic Media Sales, Sevenone Media and
Tomorrow Focus, officially began marketing target-group-specific sites on 1 April.
Germany - 6 April 2010
Audiovisual support for prisons
France’s Justice Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie signed an agreement with Groupe M6
aimed at supporting and developing audiovisual activities and training in prison.
France - 8 April 2010
Gordon Ramsay returns to haunt the kitchens
The second season of Cauchemar en Cuisine, a 13-part docu-reality presented by
Daphné Desjeux with Simone Zanoni, starts on 8 April at 20:35 on W9.
France - 8 April 2010
14
http://backstage.rtlgroup.fr
http://backstage.rtlgroup.com
http://backstage.rtlgroup.de
er
PuGbroluipsh
RTL
den
ierre Frie
45, Bd P xembourg
u
L-1543 L
tion
Produc
,
n
g
i
s
e
D
g
Editor,
Marketin
s and
up
RTL Gro Communication
te
Corpora