RTL Television

World Screen Weekly, June 15, 2006

CHANNEL NAME: RTL Television

YEAR IT LAUNCHED: 1984

OWNERSHIP: RTL Group, which is 89.8 percent owned by Bertelsmann and 10.2 percent publicly traded.

DESCRIPTION: RTL Television in Germany seeks to be a station “for all the family.” This desire is reflected in the change of the station’s slogan from the original, “Erfrischend anders” (Refreshingly Different), to the current slogan, “Mein RTL” (My RTL). RTL says that there are five key elements that are at the very core of its brand, and these are “diversity, innovation, stability, quality and relevance.” In pursuing these qualities, RTL sees itself, in its own words, as “directed towards younger and older viewers, towards men and women and towards all educational levels and income segments.” However, the key demographic for the broadcaster is the 14-to-49 set. RTL has been Germany’s number one station in that demo since 1992.

SENIOR VP, FICTION DEVELOPMENT: Barbara Thielen

HEAD, ENTERTAINMENT & DAYTIME: Tom S�nger

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: “For fictional entertainment, the first requirement at RTL is high quality,” insists Barbara Thielen, the senior VP of fiction development at RTL.

A recent development is the arrival of “event” television in the RTL schedule, which Thielen says is becoming increasingly important. However, this does not mean that the station is moving away from the TV movie, long a staple of the RTL schedule. Indeed Thielen asserts that “we want to make more TV movies because these are part of the fact of a station such as RTL.”

In terms of series, Thielen says, “Leading the field in fictional entertainment are RTL productions such as Alarm F�r Cobra 11 and Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten. These are important,” she says, “because they generate great viewer loyalty.”

Of course, not all fiction on RTL is locally produced. “RTL has the most international series in its lineup,” Thielen claims, “including CSI: Miami, which reaches record market shares in its target group, going as high as 30.2 percent. In addition we have locked in numerous major Hollywood movies including blockbuster titles such as The Day After Tomorrow, King Kong and the first and second films of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”

Tom S�nger, the head of entertainment and daytime, notes, “RTL stands for innovative entertainment, courage, continuity and diversity—a family station in the classic sense of the term. We want RTL to be an audience’s home—cozy, and yet exciting at the same time.” An important part of the strategy designed to achieve these objectives is branding. “We develop and keep the strongest brand in German television, whether it be in entertainment, factual entertainment or docu-soaps,” claims S�nger. Other initiatives also strengthen the channel’s connection with its viewers, from branding certain time slots to presenting trend-setting shows and programs of socio-cultural relevance.

As S�nger explains, RTL has been able to successfully track trends that have allowed it to develop new genres such as “coaching TV,” which includes service-oriented reality formats with high production values, such as Super Nanny and Einsatz in 4 W�nden. It has created a hugely success local version of Pop Idol called Deutschland sucht den Superstar, and Let’s Dance (Strictly Come Dancing) hit a peak audience of more than 7 million.

WHAT’S NEW: This month and next, Germany is hosting the FIFA World Cup and RTL will air eight games. This makes it the first private broadcaster in German history to carry coverage of the tournament. “In addition to straightforward sports reporting,” S�nger says, “we will be mixing football and entertainment with shows such as Alles Fussball and a Who Wants to be a Millionaire? special called Wer wird Million�r? —Prominentenspecial zur WM 2006.”

WEBSITE: www.rtl.de

— Bob Jenkins