Jochen Starke

This interview originally appeared in the MIPCOM 2013 issue of TV Europe.

RTL II aptly sums up its programming offering with the tagline, “It’s fun”. For 20 years the German station has been catering to the needs of young viewers, providing them with creative, new and unexpected shows and formats. The 14-to-49 set has answered in kind, becoming a loyal audience of daily soaps, reality shows, Hollywood movies and hit series, as well as news programming with a twist. This blend of fun and relevant programming has paid off. As CEO Jochen Starke points out, it is imperative to reach this demographic on the linear channel, online as well as through second-screen experiences. RTL II’s consistent ratings growth has been keeping the station’s shareholders happy, too. The RTL Group is majority shareholder, with a 35.9-percent stake; Tele München Gruppe and the publishing concern Heinrich Bauer Verlag each hold 31.5 percent, and the publisher Burda has the remaining 1.1 percent.

Starke proudly lists RTL II’s many accomplishments in programming, advertising, embracing online and social media, and last, but certainly not least, attracting Lady Gaga to do an on-air promo for the station, proof of the “cool factor” that is so important for RTL II’s viewers. Far more than being simply a TV station, RTL II wants to be a destination, a community that viewers can call their own.

TV EUROPE: RTL II celebrates its 20 anniversary this year. What has been the programming philosophy that has allowed RTL II to connect with viewers, particularly young viewers, so well?
STARKE: The German commercial TV market is dominated by two large broadcasting groups, in which RTL II has been operating independently for 20 years. I like to compare us to a speedboat, nimbly and swiftly maneuvering between all parties and sometimes out in front of the big ships. We have always been very innovative and risk taking when selecting our program—and sometimes we are even downright cheeky. That is what keeps us on our toes, full of surprises and as a result young and fresh.

TV EUROPE: What are some of the programming genres and specific shows that are successful now on RTL II? How is its offering different from other channels in the German market?
STARKE: Over the last couple of years RTL II has radically restructured its programming. We have invested heavily in developing our own format brands and as a result, have become more independent. For us, this is the most compelling and promising method; especially as we have to actively build our own success against the two major broadcasting groups in Germany. During daytime, we have replaced more than 800 hours of children's programs and American sitcoms with formats that we have produced ourselves featuring a variety of genres: unscripted as well as scripted reality shows, along with daily soaps. We still have to do some fine-tuning here and there and we have to continue to launch new shows in order to guarantee a long-term supply of programs. In general, we are very proud of what we have accomplished so far: optimal audience flow with no bumpy genre breaks throughout the entire day. We run two extremely successful daily soaps during access prime time and a whole lineup of excellent shows, both new and established.

RTL II was the only TV station that registered substantial growth in audience share in 2012—in a year that was dominated by some major sports events like the EURO [soccer tournament] and the Summer Olympics. The good news is that there is no sign that this upward trend is letting up. July 2013 was the 20th month in a row in which our average daily market share went up year-on-year (among an audience of 14- to 49-year-olds).

Among our most successful formats we produce two daily soaps, Berlin—Tag & Nacht and Köln 50667, we have a lineup of reality shows: Die Geissens is about a family of self-made millionaires; Die Bauretter is the chronicle of a female lawyer and male architect helping families that have been cheated by their building contractors; and Wunschkinder, about couples who desperately want to have a child. In addition to these relatively new shows, RTL II is also the proud broadcaster of several long-running cult programs such as Die Kochprofis or Zuhause im Glück that are very popular with our audience.

TV EUROPE: How has RTL II tailored its news programming for its target audience?
STARKE: RTL II is keen to be seen as down-to-earth, not overly glamorous or patronizing, but rather as a friend and companion, someone you can look in the eye and see yourself. Someone you can have a lot of fun with and whom you can rely on when the going gets tough. I believe that audiences appreciate this, and by tailoring our programming to these values it helps our viewers to connect and identify emotionally with our shows and our presenters.

That also counts for RTL II News. This program is especially popular among the young audience, who are often not very interested in traditional TV news. We mix the top news of the day with topics that young audiences are interested in and can relate to.

TV EUROPE: What has been the role of imported programming on RTL II’s schedule? What has been RTL II’s relationship with the Hollywood studios?
STARKE: High-quality fictional programming is essential for any TV channel that wants to stay ahead, both from an audience and advertisers' perspective. Hollywood films are an indispensable part of our programming, and we're always interested in acquiring rights to new product. We generally buy from all studios direct and in addition from supplying partners.

Beside feature films from the major studios, we have also been extremely successful with series like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, of which we aired complete seasons over the course of a single weekend. This "event programming," as we call it, generates considerable attention. Since we experience strong competition from DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD channels when it comes down to watching series, we decided to turn to event programming, as it is a pioneering way of showing complex serial fiction.

TV EUROPE: How are RTL II viewers watching their favorite programs? Is the linear channel still their main destination? How much are they watching online or as catch-up?
STARKE: It is notoriously difficult to compare television ratings with online statistics, but what we can say is that with our two daily soaps we have been able to lure many young viewers from online media back to the television. The formats generate around 700,000 daily video views on our catch-up service, whilst simultaneously achieving outstanding TV ratings. A study on viewers of Berlin—Tag & Nacht showed that 65 percent watch the show exclusively on television, another 25 percent watch it mostly on television and only occasionally they go online, while only about 10 percent watch it exclusively online.

Having that said, the multiscreen trend does play a key role in building successful media brands among young audiences in particular. Being able to have a 24/7 access to their favorite shows strengthens viewers’ loyalty immensely, as a result this has been contributing significantly to the program's success on the traditional linear television. Therefore this is something we believe in very strongly.

TV EUROPE: As viewers have been moving online, have advertisers been willing to follow them? What does RTL II offer advertisers both on the channel and online?
STARKE: It is television that provides the most attractive content for advertisers. That is not going to change. It does not matter what device viewers watch it on. The moving image works.

Our enormously popular access-prime-time soaps prove that online can even strengthen the TV viewing if you have an intelligent strategy to link the two media up. That is why RTL II offers its advertising customers a host of creative concepts that make intelligent use of this cross-media environment. We are able to connect advertisers' brands with our highly successful TV brands, through traditional 30-second TV spots, real and digital product placement, our website, an online catch-up service, mobile apps and social media. This offers a whole world of creative possibilities that online or print media cannot even dream of.

TV EUROPE: How has RTL II used social media to promote its shows? And how popular is RTL II on social media?
STARKE: Whenever we plan a new format, we make social media an integral part of our creative thinking right from the outset. You can’t start airing a show and then afterwards start to worry about how to integrate it in the social media. That won’t work. Sometimes you quickly surmise that a particular format doesn’t really lend itself to social media, for example extending it into Facebook, which is also OK. What’s important is to channel your resources to a selective range of formats where you really can become successful.

When we premiered our second daily access-prime-time soap, Köln 50667, we first launched it on Facebook weeks before [it aired on the channel] and introduced the characters online and set up the plot, of course without giving away too much. Köln 50667 already had more than 300,000 Facebook fans before it was even aired on TV. It was an instant hit.

The characters from the show regularly post messages on Facebook. This interaction with their fans is supported by editorial content, which enables them to interact with the show and most importantly with each other. A 24/7 community talking about the show—better promotion doesn't exist. Our first soap, Berlin—Tag & Nacht, already has more than 2.7 million fans on Facebook, which is truly a stunning amount.

RTL II is known for airing popular music and integrating it into our programming and on-air marketing. We actually aired the first casting show in Germany. As a result of that we have strong ties to the music industry, and we collaborate at all kinds of levels.

TV EUROPE: Would you tell us about the second-screen event between RTL II and Bild.de, the website of the leading German newspaper? Are there plans for more initiatives like this one?
STARKE: The "Dirty Dancing Double Date" was the first second-screen event on German television. We showed this classic cult movie on TV last November. Parallel to this, the popular cast of Berlin—Tag & Nacht watched the movie together in their loft, and we enabled fans of both the movie and the daily soap to join the cast of Berlin—Tag & Nacht via live stream on their second screens. This created a lot of interaction. For instance, there was a survey on what delivery pizza the cast should order. The live stream was presented both on rtl2.de and Bild.de, the online service of Germany’s largest-circulation newspaper. The whole thing was a huge success for everyone involved. We will definitely do something like this again.

TV EUROPE: RTL II has had a very successful offering for children despite considerable competition in the market. What has been the key to the success of RTL II’s children’s programming?
STARKE: RTL II indeed has a great tradition here. In Germany there are now however a great number of children's broadcasters, which means that we have not been able to continue the same reach as we have had in the past. The viewing habits of this audience group have changed over time and it has become increasingly difficult to integrate this content into our daily schedule. That’s why we decided to shift our children’s programming to a separate new online channel that started in April—rtl2anime.de. We are very pleased with how the audience has embraced the new channel and we are planning on expanding the channel over time.

TV EUROPE: As you look ahead 12 to 24 months, what are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the television broadcasting business? How is RTL II positioned to face the challenges of continued digitization of media and changing viewing habits?
STARKE: A popular belief among TV managers is that the audience will continue to fragment. I cannot deny this trend, but I am convinced that launching dozens of offshoots is not the way to go. It is better to invest in the good formats and that is exactly what we are doing.

You can only survive in a changing market if you have a strong, clear-cut identity. RTL II has to be a brand where people know what to expect and with which they feel at home. Not in spite of, but precisely because of an exploding supply of video content on all kinds of channels and devices, people are looking for orientation, and a channel with a strong brand is invaluable. We are very proud to have a large number of equally strong format brands that helps people clearly identify with RTL II. These are long-term assets and we control the entire value-creation chain. That’s how we will remain successful and continue to be a household name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the future.