Keep trying new things

24 May 2012
week
21
“Keep trying new things”
For 20 years, the Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten cast have served
as an extended on-screen family for viewers
The Netherlands
France
See Goede Tijden, slechte
Tijden live
M6 Replay leads
the catch-up TV market
United States
Croatia
Phillip Phillips wins
American Idol
RTL 2 is the most popular
second generation channel
the RTL Group intranet
week 21
Cover:
The cast of Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten celebrating 5,000 episodes
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the RTL Group intranet
week 21
The housemates on TV
For its average daily viewership of four million people, Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten
(Good Times, Bad Times) has become an integral fixture of the early evening.
Backstage takes a look back at 5,000 episodes spanning 20 years.
Germany - 24 May 2012
Members of the current cast:
Jörn Schlönvoigt, Sila Sahin, Raul Richter, Anne Menden, Janina Uhse, Felix von Jascheroff and Isabell Horn (from left to right)
When Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten launched
on 11 May 1992, German audiences had only
really known daily soaps from America and
Australia, while ‘telenovelas’ came from Mexico
or Brazil. RTL Television was the first German
channel to venture into producing its own daily
series. In fact, the original format and production
methodology for Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten
was based on Australia’s The Restless Years
from Grundy, now FremantleMedia Australia.
The critics didn’t pull their punches with Gute
Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten at first, but the ‘new TV
housemates’ gradually won over their audience.
“No one would have expected at the
beginning that this series would be such
along-lived success,” says Tom Sänger,
Head of Entertainment, Show & Daytime at
RTL Television. “Neither the channel nor the
production company. And certainly not the
critics.” But after a short time, its ratings soared
and Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten became
an access prime-time TV institution, and has
remained so to this day for almost four million
people. Guido Reinhardt, Chief Creative Officer
and Producer at Grundy UFA, says: “The series
has undergone an indescribable development:
at this point, every evening viewers get a highly
polished series that entertains an audience of
millions, draws them in and gives them food for
thought.”
The series was initially produced at
the Oberlandstudios in Berlin-Tempelhof, but
later moved to the Potsdam-Babelsberg studio
complex, where a team of six writers develop
stories for each new block of five 24-minute
episodes. A team of about 150 work to produce
each episode. They tell captivating stories that
are up-to-the-minute, tackle socially relevant
issues, make you think, make you smile – and
keep entertaining viewers.
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The stories are set in a fictional Berlin
neighbourhood, which wasn’t named at the
beginning of the series. “Among ourselves,
we always called it Entenhausen (Duckville),”
recalls producer Guido Reinhardt. “The more we
looked for ways to make the series truly unique,
the more we concluded that a specific location
was required. After the Wall came down, a
wave of euphoria swept through Germany and
Berlin, and the divided humdrum city turned into a
metropolis to match the likes of London, Paris,
New York and Sydney.” As a result, the city
increasingly came to the fore of the popular
series.
Tom Sänger: “As a daily series, Gute Zeiten,
schlechte Zeiten is not only an important pillar
of RTL Television’s access prime time, but also an
important model for the soap opera genre
across the entire Group, underlining the
channel’s programme continuity and quality.”
Its recipe for success? The series constantly
reinvents itself, with the producers and channel
continually reviewing and questioning the format,
to make it even better in the next step.
Christiane Ghosh, Head of Daily Series at
RTL Television: “Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten
is courageous, always daring to try new things
both in terms of the issues it tackles as well as
the way it is made. It reflects modern life in big
German cities.” Sänger adds: “The content of the
series will also deal with various socially relevant
issues in the next few years, forming the basis of
the story development alongside the themes of
love and friendship.”
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten has thrilled
viewers for the past 20 years, and its 5,000
episodes have written German television history
with more than 2,000 hours of programming. No
series is so close to the viewer or has its finger
more on the pulse of the times. No series has
more daily viewers. In the week of 21 May to
25 May, RTL Television is showing anniversary
episodes of Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten.
Several storylines approach their climax and
a number of well-known bands at a festival
organised in Berlin’s Kiez neighbourhood ensure
a high celebrity factor. For instance, the German
band Silbermond will be unveiling its new single
at the event.
week 21
The star machine
Yvonne Catterfeld’s television exposure on
the show launched her music career, and
helped to make her single Für dich number
one on the German, Austrian and Swiss
charts. Her first album went Platinum, and
she repeated this success with a subsequent
single and album, while still appearing in
movies and television. In 2004 she won an
‘Echo Award’ for Best Female Artist National
Rock/Pop. She has played in movies and TV
productions such as Keinohrhasen, Vulkan
and Zweiohrküken. In an interview, Catterfeld
told the German tabloid Bild: “The media don’t
really associate soaps with real performance,
and many members of the audience also tend
to think that anyone can do a soap. But the
truth is: you need enormous discipline. The
time pressure is much greater than in films,
because everything always has to be finished
right away.”
Jeanette Biedermann played the role
of Marie Balzer in Gute Zeiten, schlechte
Zeiten from 1999 to 2005. Music became
Biedermann’s top priority after the show. She
released an album and single which sold more
than 10 million copies, putting her among
the highest-selling German singers of today.
She has won two ‘Echo Awards’, a ‘Golden
Camera’ and a ‘Top of the Pops Award’. She
has also since served as a judge on Stars auf
Eis (Stars on Ice, in 2003 and 2006) and has
starred in various films and dramas including
Anna und die Liebe in which she has played
the main role of Anna Polauke since 2008.
Alexandra Neldel’s acting career began
when she was discovered by a German
casting agent at a polo event. She had been
working as a dental assistant, and went
on to successfully audition for a role on
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten in 1996. After
leaving the series in 1999, Neldel appeared
in various German films and TV movies
including Lammbock, Samba in Mettmann
and ‘Emmy’-winning Berlin, Berlin. Neldel
took on the leading role of Lisa Plenske in the
multi-award-winning Grundy UFA telenovela
Verliebt in Berlin, which aired on Sat 1. a role
for which she won the ‘Rose d’Or’ for Best
Actress in a Soap in 2006. She remains one
of Germany’s favourite actresses.
Past and...
...present
Past and...
...present
Past and...
...present
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Members of the cast celebrating the 5,000 episode
Music events are a fixture in the series’
history: noted bands regularly perform at the
‘Mauerwerk’. “A vibrant nightlife and concerts
are part of Berlin’s culture,” says Producer Marie
Hölker. “If we want to tell a story about this
city’s life, that is an essential part of it.”
The Mauerwerk stage has already seen
performances by such great stars as Nena und
Unheilig – and the series itself has created stars
as well: Yvonne Catterfeld and Alexandra Neldel
took their first steps as actresses on this daily
series.
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten has set new
standards and now serves an international
model as well. The companies that make up
FremantleMedia, RTL Group’s international
production arm, are constantly exchanging
ideas about successful strategies. For instance,
the colleagues at FremantleMedia Australia
consulted with the production company Grundy
UFA for the production of Neighbours. They
organised a benchmarking exercise of Gute
Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten against Neighbours
– which was on air for more than 25 years at
that time – in order to understand whether the
production methodology could be improved.
Both teams looked at the entire production
process line by line, considering key factors
such as budget, scheduling and the facilities
being used.
Sänger, “In contrast to the more traditional
daily series in the US and Australia Gute Zeiten,
schlechte Zeiten is made in a way that gives it
a much more cinematic look. Our international
colleagues are amazed at the high production
values of our access-primetime TV series, which
are on a par with prime-time productions.”
Stefanie Kloß (Silbermond) performing at the “Mauer Flower”
festival in the 5,000th episode
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Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten: Facts & Figures
In 2011 an average 3.79 million viewers a day watched the
goings-on at Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. The series achieved
a strong market share of 22.8 per cent among younger viewers
(14 to 49 age group), and 19.9 per cent in the 20 to 59 age group.
The GZSZ costume collection is comprised of 30,000 items,
including 500 pairs of shoes alone, 400 of which are women’s.
120 pairs of jeans, 400 belts, 140 coats and 780 T-shirts are also
available for the actors. The series character Jo Gerner currently
has 35 different suits hanging in the wardrobe. In total there are
650 pieces of jewellery: earrings, necklaces, bracelets and
watches. Three costume attendants and a costume designer with
two assistants make sure the cast can perform in style.
There are always at least two cameras in operation on the
studio set, which is lit by 450 lights. In the 2 studios measuring
just under 2,000 m2 there are no fewer than 30 permanent
and 13 temporary items of scenery – including 71 doors, 98 chairs,
68 windows, 12 sofas, 12 beds, 17 bar stools, 7 kitchens, 16 desks,
and more than 500 fake and custom-made products in use.
Each day, the production manager makes more than
50 announcements and calls on the intercom loudspeakers that
are scattered throughout the studio complex, to make-up, wardrobe
and costume. On top of this 150 times a day you hear: “Action!
Quiet please!” At concerts on the ‘Mauerwerk’ set there is always an
“audience” of 120 or more extras.
In 5,000 episodes there were 2,500 outside shooting days at
2,000 locations. On average 40 people are on the set at any given
time. The most distant location to date was Cape Town. Another
elaborate outdoor shoot took place on an ICE train that travelled
round and round Berlin for hours with the crew onboard. The
clapperboard first fell at the original Gute Zeiten, schlechte
Zeiten outdoor set at Filmpark Babelsberg on 18 August 2006 at
12:05, with lots of participation from an audience of political and
business figures, and in the presence of Anke Schäferkordt, CEO of
RTL Television. The Prime Minister of Brandenburg Matthias Platzeck
made a guest appearance in one scene and said: “And action!”
500,000 visitors have visited the outdoor set to date, travelling from as
far away as Brisbane, Australia. Along the street on the outdoor set are
13 houses, seven street lights, various road signs, 6 house
entrances (connected to the studio set), and lots of real trees.
The sets for Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten are individually
built by props department craftsmen like Oliver Rolfes
Each year the make-up department uses an average 15,000 cotton swabs, 250 hair bands,
25 kg of flour for use as dust, 250 packs Kleenex, 1 litre of fake blood, 1,650 hairpins, 12,000
baby wipes, 150 tubes of lip balm, 6 litres of nail polish, 10 litres of nail polish remover, and 1,200
continuity photos for later scenes.
The receptionist wakes the actors a total of 100 times a year – one of her jobs is not to let anyone
oversleep. More than 25,000 fan letters are received per year, of which 87 per cent are now
emails (in the year 2000: 11 per cent). In 2011 45,000 autograph cards were sent out.
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See Goede Tijden,
Slechte Tijden live
Due to huge demand from fans, RTL 4 and
Endemol have decided to continue the GTST Live
event this year. Tickets for the event in August
are on sale now.
The Netherlands - 23 May 2012
The cast of Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden
On Saturday 25 August, the Vredenburg Theatre
in Utrecht opens its doors once again to give
thousands of fans the ultimate Goede Tijden,
Slechte Tijden (Good Times, Bad Times – GTST)
experience – with the entire cast of the popular
daily series appearing live.
cket at
Get your ti
nl
.
RTLTickets
The show begins with a review of the last
episode before the summer break. Fans then
get an exclusive preview of the very first episode
of the new season, which will be broadcast on
RTL 4 on 3 September. Afterwards, fans have
an opportunity to meet the cast from GTST in
the flesh. The event’s host Peter van der Vorst
welcomes the cast on stage and discusses the
series with them and the fans for two hours.
Tickets for the show are on sale now at
RTLTickets.nl and GTST.nl.
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Phillip Phillips is the new American Idol
The 11th season of American Idol came to a sensational conclusion as Phillip Phillips
was crowned the winner during the live two-hour season finale on Fox. Phillips from
Leesburg, GA received the majority of the 132 million votes – the highest number in
the show’s history.
North America - 24 May 2012
Phillip Phillips, 11th winner of American Idol
Phillips
capped
his
coronation
on
Wednesday’s finale by singing Home, which
is available for download exclusively on
AmericanIdol.com and I-Tunes. The broadcast
from the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los
Angeles featured performances by the
reunited Top 12 finalists, as well as music
superstars Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna,
Neil Diamond and Chaka Khan. Also, in a
series of special duets, John Fogerty joined
Phillip Phillips; Jennifer Holliday sang with
Jessica Sanchez; Season Three winner
Fantasia performed with Joshua Ledet; Season
Six winner Jordin Sparks accompanied Hollie
Cavanagh; and Reba McEntire paired up with
Skylar Laine.
Phillips is the eleventh finalist to win the
coveted American Idol title and a record
contract with 19 Recordings. He joins past
winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard,
Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks,
Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen,
Lee DeWyze and Scotty McCreery.
American Idol is produced by FremantleMedia
North America and 19 Entertainment,
a division of CKX. The series is created
and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, CEO,
XIX Entertainment, and executive-produced by
Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO FremantleMedia North
America. For more information on the show and
auditions for Season 12, see AmericanIdol.com
On Tuesday night’s final performance show,
Phillips and Sanchez each sang three songs.
Phillips performed Stand By Me, Movin’ Out and
Home; and Sanchez sang I Have Nothing, The
Prayer and Change Nothing. Also, Jason Derulo
performed Undefeated and Season 10 winner
Scotty McCreery returned to Idol to sing Please
Remember Me.
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The Physician moves to production stage
Shooting will soon begin on the screen adaptation of Noah Gordon’s bestseller The
Physician, directed by Philipp Stölzl. Oscar winner Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s
List) has been recruited to play Ibn Sina, the ‘greatest physician of all time’.
Germany - 22 May 2012
In Germany alone, Der Medicus, the German
edition
of
the
international
bestseller
The Physician, sold more than six million copies.
The book, a highly up-to-date plea for peaceful
coexistence and religious tolerance, will serve
as the template for an emotional and visually
stunning movie. Jan Berger, a screenwriter for
top-quality cinema, has taken on the adaptation
of the novel; Hagen Bogdanski (The Lives Of
Others) will be in charge of the camerawork.
UFA Cinema Managing Director Wolf Bauer,
Producer of the film, says: “The Physician is
one of the last as yet un-filmed mega-sellers
of our time. I am delighted about this strong
international cast and am convinced that
Philipp Stölzl and his wonderful team will
create a film that is in no way inferior to the
gripping and monumental novel.”
The Physician tells the story of Rob Cole,
an orphan who leaves 11th-century England
to travel to Isfahan, Persia, to study medicine
with Ibn Sina, “the greatest physician of them
all.” Along the way, Rob encounters countless
dangers and challenges, is forced to make
sacrifices and advance unconditionally on his
chosen path. In the end, his tireless quest for
knowledge is rewarded with friendship and true
love.
Cover of Noah Gordon’s novel The Pysician
English actor Tom Payne plays the young
physician Rob Cole, while Ben Kingsley is
cast as the great physician Ibn Sina. Stellan
Skarsgård (Marvel’s The Avengers, The Girl With
The Dragon Tattoo) plays the barber, Rob’s first
mentor, and Olivier Martinez (Untreu, SWAT)
plays Shah Ala ad-Daula. Elyas M’Barek
(Türkisch für Anfänger) joins the cast as Karim.
The Physician is a UFA Cinema co-production
with ARD Degeto and Beta Cinema. Wolf Bauer
and Nico Hofmann are the film’s Producers,
with Sebastian Werninger acting as Executive
Producer, and Ulrich Schwarz as Creative
Producer. The movie is supported by Filmstiftung
NRW,
Mitteldeutsche
Medienförderung,
Medienboard
Berlin-Brandenburg,
the
Filmförderungsanstalt
and
Deutscher
Filmförderfonds. Shooting begins in mid-June
2012 and will take place in Morocco and
Germany.
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M6 Replay leads the catch-up TV market
Médiamétrie recently published Global Catch-Up, its new baseline study on the use
of catch-up TV services in France. The findings show that M6 leads the market in
time-shifted TV viewing.
France - 18 May 2012
M6 Replay confirms its leading position on TV
screens. With 180,400 daily users the service
is number one in the total audience, which
corresponds to a 24 per cent market share
among users of catch-up TV (741,300 people).
M6 Replay has a similarly high market share
(23.4 per cent) of the total number of videos
watched. Moreover, M6 Replay is in second
place in the total daily audience with an average
20.9 per cent market share. The service also
recorded the longest viewing times per viewer
among the traditional channels’ services – an
average 76 minutes a day.
Since the beginning of 2012, Groupe M6
video offerings (especially M6 Replay and W9
Replay), which are now watched on eight million
TV screens and more than three million mobiles
and tablets via the M6 app for the I-Phone and
I-Pad, generated more than 200 million video
views across all screens, 65 per cent of them on
TV, mobile and tablets.
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the RTL Group intranet
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His ‘n’ her websites
RTL.be recently launched two new website focusing on women and men,
called ‘Pour elle’ (For her) and ‘Pour lui’ (For him).
Belgium - 21 May 2012
Screenshot ‘Pour lui’
“This launch is part of the strategy originally
developed for the RTL.be website, centred on
breaking news and areas where there was a lack
of magazine content because it needed to be
handled in a different way,” says Jean-Jacques
Deleeuw, Director of RTL Newmedia, in a
interview with the daily newspaper Libre
Belgique. “We can do this now with ‘Pour elle’
and ‘Pour lui’.”
In the broadest sense of the word RTL.be
combines information from RTL Info, RTL Sport,
RTL People and RTL Loisirs. Since its launch in
2011 RTL.be has become a fixture in Belgium’s
French-speaking community.
Articles, expert advice and more than 5,000
videos will illustrate such varied topics as
cooking, fitness, psychology, fashion, beauty
and home décor, with one goal: to bring a fresh
perspective to topics of interest to the two
sexes, as Deleeuw explains: “We are going
to put identical content on the two sites but
treat it from a male or female point of view to
overcome the prejudice that says cars are
for men and beauty for women. You will find
content from Plug RTL or Club RTL that has
recently undergone a similar thematic
treatment.” Plug RTL is positioned for women
and Club RTL aim at male audience.
Jean-Jacques Deleeuw
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Croatia’s most watched
second generation
channel
With an average audience share of 4.5 per cent
in the first four months of 2012, RTL 2 confirmed
its position as most watched second-generation
channel in Croatia in the target group of viewers
aged 18 to 49.
Modern Family
Croatia - 21 May 2012
RTL 2 was launched in January 2011, as a
pure entertainment channel and was therefore
categorized as a “specialised channel” by the
Croatian television regulator. The channel runs
a stripped prime time schedule from Mondays
to Fridays, consisting of double episodes of
comedy classics like Malcolm in the middle,
King of Queens, Two and a Half Men, as well
as current hits like Modern Family and Big Bang
Theory. The evening is rounded out by Croatia’s
only daily late-night talk show, Studio 45.
This mix has proven very successful so far
and RTL 2 continues to grow. In the first
four months of 2012, RTL 2’s average prime
time audience share in its target group of
viewers aged 18 to 49 has grown to 4.5 per
cent (compared to 3.7 per cent in the same
period 2011), well ahead of competitor Doma
with 3.5 per cent, as well as other national
channels of the second generation. In all-day
ratings, RTL 2 also remains the most watched
channel with 4.5 per cent.
RTL 2 has the youngest audience of all
channels – with regular viewers aged 33 years
old on average. Of the 15 most watched formats
broadcast on RTL 2 and Doma in the first four
months of 2012, ten formats were broadcast on
RTL 2.
So-called “mirror breaks” offered to advertisers
on RTL 2 proved to be an excellent move: in
the time from 16:00 to 23:00 advertising breaks
on RTL Televizija and RTL 2 are synchronised,
offering advertisers more visibility and the
chance to increase the reach of their campaign.
12
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the RTL Group intranet
week 21
The most popular Spanish medium on Facebook
A survey by LaInformacion.com indicates that with more than 535,000 Facebook fans,
Antena 3 is the most popular medium on the social network in Spain.
Spain - 18 May 2012
UFA Sports founds hospitality unit
To facilitate its exclusive marketing of the official hospitality programme for the Fifa
Football World Cup 2014 and the Confederations Cup 2013 in Brazil, UFA Sports has
set up a separate hospitality unit at its Hamburg headquarters.
Germany - 18 May 2012
Ludia signs agreement with Red Sprite Studios
The Interactive entertainment company Ludia has announced its debut in publishing
activities with the signing of a new publishing deal with Brisbane-based video game
studio Red Sprite Studios.
North America - 21 May 2012
One minute to win big
Coming to M6 this summer: the international hit TV game show 60 secondes chrono
(Minute To Win It).
France - 21 May 2012
Distinct brand awareness
According to the latest Observatoire 2012 CSA de notoriété des chaînes de
complément poll, which measures the brand awareness of complementary channels,
Groupe M6’s digital channels are the best known in France.
France - 22 May 2012
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the RTL Group intranet
week 21
Great launch for Ludia’s Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
app
Just days after launch, Ludia and One Three Media’s new Are You Smarter Than A
5th Grader? app has already broken into the US App Store’s overall top 5, as well as
reaching the number one position for the I-Pad.
North America - 22 May 2012
News from UFA Lab
UFA Lab is teaming up with Kaasa Solution, Dusseldorf to bring its first game to the
Apple App Store: Master of Maya. Furthermore, on 21 May the Youtube Academy made
its debut on the UFA Lab premises.
Germany - 22 May 2012
Le 12h45 gets a new look
Since 21 May 2012, M6’s mid-day news programme presented by Aïda Touihri has
changed its formula to offer viewers more explanation and interactivity.
France - 23 May 2012
Social network catches the travel bug
Wer-kennt-wen.de has teamed up with Reise.de to serve up holiday-related deals
and information from now on.
Germany - 23 May 2012
Double up for The Xtra Factor
Caroline Flack, one of Britain’s most sought-after TV presenters and Olly Murs,
a double-platinum selling artist, will be back to host The Xtra Factor, the popular
sister show to The X Factor.
United Kingdom - 23 May 2012
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Harsh reality on access prime time
Since 21 May the Dutch men’s TV channel RTL 7 has presented a new access
prime-time line-up full of reality formats.
The Netherlands - 24 May 2012
Catch-up Radio: RTL Radio maintains among the top
According to the latest figures from Médiamétrie on podcast downloads in April,
RTL Radio in France continues to confirm healthy figures in digital formats. With
almost one million more downloads as compared to April 2011, RTL Radio posts
the biggest increase among radio stations over one year (plus 31 per cent).
France - 24 May 2012
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