Get acquainted with FremantleMedia’s

video game company Ludia

GAME ON!GAME ON!

week 05 / 4 February 2016

France M6 acquires the broadcasting rights to eleven Euro 2016 matches

North America American Gods’ protagonist unveiled

Luxembourg BCE and Enex join forces

Get acquainted with FremantleMedia’s

video game company Ludia

GAME ON!GAME ON!

week 05 / 4 February 2016

France M6 acquires the broadcasting rights to eleven Euro 2016 matches

North America American Gods’ protagonist unveiled

Luxembourg BCE and Enex join forces

Cover Montage

PublisherRTL Group

45, Bd Pierre FriedenL-1543 Luxembourg

Editor, Design, ProductionRTL Group

Corporate Communications & Marketing

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GROWING GAME-MANIA! Ludia p.4–8

Acquisition of the broadcasting rights to eleven Euro 2016

matches M6 p.9

American Gods’ protagonist

name unveiled FremantleMedia

North America p.10

RTL Group’s companies join forces BCE / Enex

p.11

Launch of Game of Thrones marketing campaign RTL II

p.12

Big Picturep.13

SHORTNEWS

p.14

PEOPLE

p.15

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GROWING GAME-MANIA!

Canada – 4 February 2016

Ludia

Following the success of Ludia’s video game Jurassic World™: The Game, Backstage interviewed Alex Thabet, President and CEO of Ludia, about the company’s history, its business model and its plans for 2016 and beyond.

Alex Thabet, President and CEO of Ludia

“JURASSIC WORLD WAS

THE COMPANY’S BIGGEST HIT.

I THINK IT WAS KIND OF A

PERFECT STORM”

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Montreal-based video game company Ludia is a member of the FremantleMedia entertainment family and its mission is to create and distribute cross-platform digital games with mass consumer appeal. Founded in 2007 by experienced industry players, Ludia’s primary focus was to develop games based on well-known intellectual properties, especially coming from the TV ecosystem.

And this is how the commercial relationship with FremantleMedia began – through the licensing of The Price Is Right which was essentially the first property the company secured back in 2007. Alex Thabet recalls: “Bear in mind that at the time Ludia was just a business on paper so it was a pretty tough exercise to convince a company like FremantleMedia to grant us the rights to one of their beloved properties, but we did agree to do so and that was essentially the factor that created the entire success of the company.”

Following The Price Is Right and Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, over the last seven years the company continued to release around five games per year and now has more than 50 games in total. Its innovative and high-quality

product portfolio consists of original and branded properties including: Jurassic ParkTM Builder, Dragons: Rise of Berk, Family Feud®, Where’s Waldo? and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Over the years the business model has evolved considerably, from a retail-driven business to a digital distribution based business. Ludia’s business model closely followed this evolution to meet the needs of its audience. Today all of Ludia’s games

Next >

SOME OF LUDIA’S MOST POPULAR TITLES:

JURASSIC WORLD

Platforms iOS, Android, Amazon

Downloads & highlights• Downloads: 24M• #1 on App Store in over 30 countries• Top 10 grossing app in over 50 countriesLaunched 2015Price Freemium# of languages available 10

DRAGONS: RISE OF BERK

Platforms iOS, Android, Amazon, Facebook

Downloads & highlights

• Downloads: 34.5M

• #1 on App Store in 85 countries (2014)

Launched 2014Price Freemium# of languages available 6

FAMILY FEUD & FRIENDS

Platforms iOS, Android, Amazon, Facebook

Downloads

10.5M

Launched 2014Price Freemium# of languages available English

GET A GLIMPSE AT THE JURASSIC WORLDTM: THE GAME

are distributed via digital distribution channels. Alex Thabet explains: “With the digital video game emergence in some of the new platforms like the iPhone or Facebook, our model has changed significantly. Obviously now you’re not going to retail stores to buy a game, you’re actually downloading that product right away on your device. But on top of that, because of that distribution methodology, that has an influence as well on the way games have been built and monetised. Advertising has become a much greater portion of our revenue stream.”

Regarding the ad business he further explains: “Nowadays we have a tendency to better monetise our games when we integrate micro-transactions, rather than a one-off big amount that we charge our users. We are currently working with four or five ad providers that we integrate in various parts of our games. These integrations have become pretty smart in a way that minimises the intrusion of these ads in the experience while still providing good returns on the advertisers’ investments.”

2015 was a particularly successful year for the company. In April, Ludia launched the successful Jurassic WorldTM: The Game which over the course of 2015 achieved a massive 24 million downloads around the world. Available on iOS and Android devices, Jurassic WorldTM: The Game has quickly become a fans’ favourite, ranked number one on Apple’s App Store in over 30 countries and one of the top ten grossing apps in over 50 countries.

Jurassic WorldTM: The Game follows the success of Ludia’s previous prehistoric game, Jurassic ParkTM Builder, inspired by the beloved franchise.

Jurassic WorldTM: The Game has been Ludia’s biggest launch in the studio’s history. Alex Thabet explains: “Jurassic World was the company’s biggest hit. I think it was kind of a perfect storm. The movie did extremely well in the box office. Our previous games based on the Jurassic World franchise had already done very well. We built on that success and know-how to create an even greater experience and tie-in between the movie release and the game. In its first month, it made over 25 million Canadian dollars in revenues and attracted millions of users every month, connecting to the game every day.”

In total Ludia’s games were downloaded 80 million times in 2015. Following this success, the company has announced a self-funded growth plan of 30 million Canadian dollars to be reinvested in the business in the next two years, as well as the creation of 100 new positions.

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Next >

Jurassic WorldTM: The Game has been Ludia’s biggest launch in the studio’s history

“WE’RE GOING TO EXPAND OUR MONTREAL-BASED

STUDIO FROM ABOUT 300 PEOPLE TODAY TO 400 HOPEFULLY BY THE

END OF THIS YEAR” Alex Thabet

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“Most of that investment will go on hiring new staff,” says Alex Thabet. “We’re going to expand our Montreal-based studio from about 300 people today to 400 hopefully by the end of this year, but right now it’s a two-year plan. The other part will be to acquire new properties and expand the portfolio of games that we’re going to be developing over the years.” These new licences will allow Ludia to take on more projects with a broader consumer appeal and reach a larger and more varied fan base in the casual to mid-core games sector.

In addition to creating new games, Ludia’s goal is to maintain its successful ones and also grow the infrastructure of its studio. As a creative company, Alex Thabet highlights how important it is to work in an inspiring environment: “As we go forward, we want to make sure that we keep the best possible working environment for our staff and that’s been a priority for the business for years now.”

Asked about why people love working for Ludia, Alex Thabet says: “We are still a relatively small company. We have just over 300 employees which makes us very accessible. We keep a certain proximity between everyone. It’s also a very young organisation. The average age is probably around 35. It’s a very creative environment, very dynamic, which overall makes it a very fun place to be part of.”

Kung Fu Panda: Battle of Destiny is Ludia’s latest release. Based on the successful DreamWorks Animation franchise Kung Fu Panda, the game is

now offered exclusively on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. A card battle game genre, it was launched alongside the highly-anticipated film, Kung Fu Panda 3, released in North American cinemas on 29 January 2016. “Kung Fu Panda: Battle of Destiny marks Ludia’s entrance into the card battle game genre, and there could not be any better franchise than Kung Fu Panda to deliver this exciting experience,” says Alex Thabet. “We have a long history with DreamWorks Animation and are proud to be working with them once again on the expansive and rich world of Kung Fu Panda, one of the most successful entertainment franchises in the industry.”

“IT’S ALSO A VERY YOUNG ORGANISATION.

THE AVERAGE AGE IS PROBABLY AROUND 35”

Alex Thabet

Next >

Another strong franchise of Ludia: Dragons. Photo taken during the recent visit of RTL Group’s Co-CEO Guillaume de Posch to Ludia’s studio

Kung Fu Panda: Battle of Destiny marks Ludia’s entrance into the card battle game genre

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ALEX THABET’S GAME PROFILE

“I have a wide range of games that I like to play and obviously it’s part of my job to experience a lot of these games that are on the market. I personally try and make sure that we get involved in games and genres that we all like to play.”

“I get a thrill from playing our classic game shows that we’ve created. You know, I grew up with things like The Price is Right and Family Feud®. Actually I love trivia and I love watching those shows, and I love playing them. On top of that, I have young kids that will bring me back to things like Jurassic World, Dragons and Kung Fu Panda.”

CLICK TO CHECK OUT

LUDIA’S VIDEO GAMES

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M6 has secured the rights to some of the best matches, including the final, of this year’s Uefa’s Euro 2016 tournament, which will take place in France from 10 June to 10 July. France – 2 February 2016

M6 will broadcast a total of 11 games in this major sporting event. In addition to six last-32 ties, for which the draw is already known, M6 will also be treating its viewers to two last-16 games and a quarter final that will feature France (if the national team qualifies), a semi-final and, most importantly of all, the final! Thus, French viewers will be able to follow the fortunes of their favourite team on M6 for the first time.

Speaking on France Info about winning these highly coveted rights, Nicolas de Tavernost, Président du Directoire of Groupe M6, said: “It will be a great moment for France, and a great moment for television. As the second largest private channel in France, M6 wanted to be part of this great event, so naturally we are happy to have secured the rights to cover it on our channels. The teams involved made an immense effort, in mutual fair play between TF1 and M6. Our initial objective was to land coverage of the final and we participated in the competition to achieve that. So we will be covering the final, which evidently makes us very happy and proud. (…) Our image will be given a boost, which is very important, and of course we definitely wanted to be involved because the tournament is being played in France and the French team has qualified.”

Coverage will start on M6 on 11 June 2016, with the last-32 match between England and Russia.

M6 LANDS RIGHTS TO TOP FOOTBALL COVERAGE M6

Nicolas de Tavernost

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Starz and FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) have announced that Ricky Whittle (The 100, Austenland) has been cast as Shadow Moon in the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed fantasy novel, American Gods. The series will begin shooting in April. North America – 1 February 2016

American Gods is produced by FMNA, while Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Heroes) and Michael Green (The River, Kings, Heroes) are writers and showrunners. David Slade (Hannibal, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) is directing the pilot and additional episodes. Starz retains all network pay TV and SVOD rights to the project, while FremantleMedia is distributing the series worldwide.

Neil Gaiman says: “I’m thrilled that Ricky has been cast as Shadow. His auditions were remarkable. The process of taking a world out of the pages of a book, and putting it onto the screen has begun. American Gods is, at its heart, a book about immigrants, and it seems perfectly appropriate that Shadow will, like so much else, be coming to America. I’m delighted Ricky will get to embody Shadow. Now the fun starts.”

Bryan Fuller and Michael Green add: “We searched every continent and country and all the islands in between for our Shadow Moon, and we are lucky to have found Ricky. Fans of the novel will find he has every bit of the heart of the character they fell in love with.”

A native of Oldham, Greater Manchester England, Ricky Whittle’s credits include The 100, Austenland, Hollyoaks, Mistresses, NCIS and Holby City. Whittle is the son of former Royal Air Force serviceman Harry Whittle and grew up travelling around the world. A keen sportsman, Whittle represented England and the United Kingdom at youth level in football and rugby.

UNVEILING THE PROTAGONIST FremantleMedia North America

Ricky Whittle

ABOUT THE NOVEL AMERICAN GODS

The 2001 novel has been translated into over 30 languages and earned numerous accolades including Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker awards for Best Novel. The plot posits a war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of biblical and mythological roots from around the world are steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and travelling partner to Mr Wednesday, a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.

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BCE has just installed a new HD technical infrastructure and a Media Asset Management (MAM), Editorial and Playout platform for Enex, the international news provider. Luxembourg – 3 February 2016

The new system was launched officially on 14 January 2016 following a soft launch at the end of 2015. The heart of the new platform is an advanced News Media Asset Management (MAM). Completely developed by BCE, the MAM features library content management tools and advanced automation.

The intuitive graphic user interface is tailor-made for Enex technical and editorial staff and can be accessed by Enex staff in the three continents in which the organisation currently operates offices. The production environment also comes with an integrated editing tool.

Christos Schizas, Deputy Managing Director of Enex, says: “This project represents the most important investment decision in the recent history of Enex and required a long investigation period and deep discussions with our key members. We are very happy to have opted for

the BCE proposal and very excited with the final result. What has started as a purely technical upgrade from SD to HD has resulted in developing an innovative media management and editorial platform. It is the platform that automates a large part of our daily work and lets our staff focus on value and service for our members. At the same time, it is a solid base that provides enormous flexibility for the future and can grow with Enex. Finally by combining industry best practices, open source software and BCE custom solutions we have managed to keep the overall investment at low levels, in line with our goal for flexibility and efficiency.”

BCE AND ENEX JOIN FORCES BCE / Enex

From left to right: Terence Jarosz (Enex), Léa Krieger (BCE), Sven Weisen (BCE), Julian Neundorf (BCE), Tobias Matzat (BCE), Daniel Resslinger (BCE), Sascha Quillet,

Steve Heiles (BCE) and Christos Schizas (Enex)

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RTL II has launched a comprehensive marketing campaign for the free-TV premiere of the fifth season of Game of Thrones on 12 February 2016. Germany – 4 February 2016

In addition to out-of-home advertising in 15 German cities, the campaign also includes trailers produced in-house for digital outdoor advertising spaces in Germany.

With Game of Thrones protagonist Tyrion Lannister sailing southwards, the adapted advertising theme signals big changes in the series. There is also wide coverage in many national printed publications, such as Bild, Gala, Focus, InTouch and TV Movie.

Alongside advertising in target online publications, Edgar Freecards are being used to advertise the series launch in over 2,500 food outlets. The rigid plastic cards can be used as ice scrapers and have the slogan “Better cold than dead” on them. National cinema advertising and Radio Energy ad spots complete the package.

Carlos Zamorano, Director of Marketing and Communications at RTL II, says: “We have established Game of Thrones – one of the most successful series in the world – as a powerful programme brand at RTL II. A premium series deserving premium marketing: our creative campaign gives us and our advertising customers maximum exposure for the new series of Game of Thrones.”

WINTER IS COMING AND SO IS THE CAMPAIGN! RTL II

Scene from Game of Thrones

Ad with Tyrion Lannister

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On top down underOn Saturday 30 January 2016, season ten of RTL Television’s iconic reality show Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! (I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!) crowned Menderes Bagci as the new king of the jungle, after he won 81.11 per cent of viewers’ votes.

On average 8.60 million viewers watched the grand finale broadcast from Australia, peaking at 9.23 million viewers. In the target group, the audience share totalled 43.3 per cent, equivalent to 6.72 million viewers.

The success was replicated online as well: 20.3 million video views were achieved on Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland online platforms and 2.3 million interactions were generated by comments, likes, shares and tweets.

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Quit your job and other news Original Production In advance of appearing at the Realscreen Summit, Original Productions CEO and Executive Producer Philip D. Segal spoke to Realscreen about the company’s upcoming series, including Quit Your Day Job and Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove. Read more here. North America – 29 January 2016

Television in your pocket RTL Belgium Customers of Belgian operator Allo RTL can now watch RTL-TVI, Club RTL and Plug RTL for free on their smartphone or tablet. Belgium – 2 February 2016

Second to none RTL Televizija On 31 January 2016, RTL Televizija broadcast the match Croatia-Norway for third place in the European Men’s Handball Championship. Croatia’s victory attracted 50.16 per cent of viewers and was the most watched programme on all TV channels in Croatia.Croatia – 2 February 2016

Now via satellite RTL Z Starting in February 2016, the Dutch channel RTL Z is also available via CanalDigitaal (Channel 13) – and thus also via satellite. All subscribers to a BasisHD package or more comprehensive package can watch the channel on CanalDigitaal.The Netherlands – 3 February 2016

Conquering new heights FremanteMedia International FremantleMedia International (FMI) has extended its relationship with one of the UK’s leading independent creative forces, Arrow Media, having acquired international distribution rights to two brand new documentary series: Operation Burma and Nightmare on Everest.United Kingdom – 4 February 2016

SHORT NEWS

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PEOPLE

THORSTEN DEGEN TO STRENGTHEN UFA’S MANAGEMENT TEAM

UFA Germany – 29 January 2016

UFA’s management team is to be strengthened by the appointment of Thorsten Degen, hitherto COO/CFO at UFA Serial Drama, as its COO. In spring 2016, Degen will also take over extensive duties from departing CFO Martin Licher.

Nico Hofmann, Co-CEO UFA, says: “For a long time now, Thorsten Degen has been a driving force behind the modernisation and optimisation of key areas of UFA Serial Drama. In recent years I’ve come to know and appreciate him as a shrewd and thoughtful strategist. I’m delighted that the entire company will now be able to benefit from his extensive experience and wide-ranging expertise and personally look forward to leading UFA to a successful future together with him and Wolf Bauer.”

Wolf Bauer, Co-CEO UFA, says: “I’m very thankful that such a key post will be changing hands so smoothly, guaranteeing much-needed continuity. I respect the decision taken by Martin Licher to retire after what has been a long and successful career. In April 2016, he will have served as UFA’s CFO for 13 years. In that capacity, his strategic know-how, detailed specialist knowledge in a huge range of areas and tremendous, unwavering commitment over many years have left a lasting mark on the company. I’d like to express my admiration and deep gratitude to Martin for being a great colleague and making such an energetic contribution over the past 23 years.”

Born in Hamburg, Thorsten Degen studied business engineering at TU Berlin. His first job was as a controller in the Electronic Media division of Bertelsmann AG’s central staff. After switching to the Controlling department of UFA Holding in Hamburg, where he focussed on film and sports rights and TV production, Degen first rose to head that department, then took over the commercial management of UFA Serial Drama (at the time still called GrundyUFA) in Potsdam-Babelsberg.

Since October 2005 he has been the company’s Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer and deputy CEO. In addition, in his capacity as a Producer and Managing Director he runs the business activities of the company’s Hungarian subsidiary UFA Magyarorzszág, which has enjoyed great success since 1997 with the daily soap Barátok Közt (Among Friends).

Thorsten Degen

Martin Licher

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