WS_1012_ONE-ON-ONE-RTL_1005_ONE-ON-ONE 9/20/12 7:17 PM Page 5
The main channel, M6, is complemented by its digital companion,W9, which is the most watched digital terrestrial channel in the key commercial target group. W9 is positioned as a ‘mini-generalist’ channel whose programming covers various genres, including series, movies, magazines such as Enquête d’action, factual-entertainment formats and reality TV shows. This strategy has paid off: in the first six months of 2012, M6 scored an audience share of 17.3 percent and was once again the only major channel to increase its ratings—and this in an environment that’s still marked by ongoing audience fragmentation. With the broadcast of live EURO 2012 matches in June, M6 scored its best monthly ratings in four years. The match between Sweden and France attracted 12.2 million viewers—the channel’s second-highest audience ever. As a consequence, the M6 family increased its combined audience share, both in terms of total audience and in the commercial target group.
WS: RTL Nederland has recently been named media company of the year in the Netherlands. What factors have been driving its success? DE POSCH: One of RTL Nederland’s biggest achievements in recent years was its ability to very successfully position a fleet of four channels under the RTL brand name and to largely monetize their growing audience ratings: in 2011, nearly all growth in the Dutch advertising market went to RTL Nederland. In the first half of 2012, RTL Nederland’s family of channels achieved a combined prime-time audience share of 32.4 percent.That was slightly down year-on-year, mostly because the European football championship was broadcast by the public broadcasters in June. Nevertheless, RTL Nederland increased its lead over its main commercial competitor, SBS Group, to 12.4 percentage points and also remained clearly ahead of the public broadcasters. This is mostly due to great formats such as The Voice of Holland and Holland’s Got Talent, which captivated
millions of Dutch viewers each week. Or take The X Factor: last year, RTL Nederland developed a 360degree approach to increase audience involvement. It launched an app that enabled viewers to interact with candidates—even to follow their heartbeat while they sang onstage and prepared for their turn. This “heartbeat” feature created a real buzz. Another feature, the “social heartbeat,” showed how many tweets and comments were posted for each candidate. In other words, the second screen has become a crucial addition. In the past, interactivity used to take place through text messages or callin; today viewers use Facebook and Twitter. Shows like X Factor still create the “coffee-machine buzz,” but today it happens in real time and not the next day. After the finale, RTL Nederland organized The X Factor Experience, a special concert where fans could contact the candidates they knew from the TV screen. This is a perfect example of what RTL Entertainment does in the event space—
especially since the acquisition of Wentink Events. RTL Entertainment also organizes events that aren’t at all related to any TV show. To sum it up: RTL Nederland is one of the forerunners in digitization and diversification. Bert Habets and his team have managed to convert RTL Nederland from a TV broadcaster into an all-round media company. Besides the launch of new channels like RTL Telekids, RTL Nederland operates a rapidly growing on-demand platform called RTL XL and a series of popular mobile apps. It also operates online portals like the newly acquired weather site Buienradar and branches out into ventures such as the restaurant-reservation tool Couverts. WS: Hungary is suffering from a
sluggish economy. What challenges is RTL Klub facing? DE POSCH: In the first half of 2012, Hungary’s net TV-advertising market continued to decline quite significantly. This difficult economic environment—combined with the on-
WS: The Spanish market, by com-
parison, is a much different situation. How is Antena 3 faring? DE POSCH: No doubt, Spain is in a difficult economic situation. The country’s TV-advertising market fell by an estimated 16.5 percent in the first six months of 2012. In Spain, we are a minority shareholder in Grupo Antena 3, with a 21.7-percent stake in the company. Earlier this year, Antena 3 and La Sexta agreed to merge their TV businesses. Following a ruling of the competition authority CNC in July, which was considered unacceptable by Antena 3, the Spanish government looked into the subject and modified the ruling of the CNC. As I said, the country is facing a difficult economic environment, but it is also a large TV market in Europe with significant recovery potential once the economic crisis is behind [us]—and Spanish people love watching TV, as shown by the very high average viewing time of 239 minutes per person a day.
Taking aim: FremantleMedia Enterprises represents a diverse slate of programming that includes a growing portfolio of drama titles, among them Sky Atlantic’s critically acclaimed Hit & Miss, starring Chloë Sevigny. 10/12
World Screen
229