the art of radio programming - rtl group

week 05

02 February 2012

The art of radio programming Yves Bigot explains how RTL Radio uses state-of-the-art market research to remain France’s leading station

GermanyMediengruppe RTL Deutschland partners with The Walt Disney Company

GermanyThe German family of channels starts the year on a high note

North AmericaCEO Thom Beers on the achievements of Original Productions in 2011

FranceM6 ratings continue to rise in January

the RTL Group intranetweek 05

Cover:Yves Bigot at the RTL Radio studios

2


3

The audience listens to a radio station in the same way that they support a football club or political party – this is the conviction of Yves Bigot, RTL Radio’s Station and Programme Director. He says: “This medium has a social, cultural and almost family-oriented element and it is with this in mind that programmes have to set out to secure listeners’ long-term loyalty to the brand“. Even more, he continues: “In fact, most French listeners tend to be loyal to one or two radio stations throughout their entire lives. So whereas TV is the zapping medium par excellence, radio is a medium characterised by confi dence built up gradually over an extended period”.

Accordingly, in exchange for its listeners’ loyalty, RTL Radio above all emphasizes the reliability and longevity of its programmes and pays special attention to how it develops the brand, adopting a ‘softly, softly’ approach. Strong brands like Les Grosses Têtes or Les Nocturnes, which have been on air for 35 and 38 years respectively and constitute corner stones of the radio station, are just two examples.

Even though RTL Radio has for a long time been the leading French radio station, it certainly does not rest on its laurels and constantly endeavours to maintain the mindset of a challenger. Since Christopher Baldelli took charge of RTL Group’s radio activities in France (RTL, RTL 2 and Fun Radio), RTL Radio has demonstrated a willingness to take risks and shown no hesitation in introducing new programmes designed to keep the station in pole position in the face of ever fi ercer competition.

To avoid making unproductive daily changes to programmes or ill-advised long-term changes to its programme grid, RTL Radio pores over the comments received from listeners and also adopts a scientifi c approach, working together with Mediapanel, a subsidiary of RTL Group’s French radio arm. Mediapanel specialises in providing strategic advice for content editors. “We monitor the direction taken by RTL Radio’s programmes with a view to taking account of the perceptions and expectations of listeners, assessing trends in public opinion and monitoring changes in the ways people consume the medium,” explains Ghislain Thomas, Mediapanel’s Chief Analyst for Editorial Research. When advising RTL Radio, the research institute relies on continuous analysis of the station’s listeners, keeps tabs on the opposition and also banks on the fi ndings of extensive qualitative and quantitative surveys.

As a general-interest radio station, RTL Radio strikes a healthy balance between information and entertainment. The surveys commissioned by France’s leading radio station primarily concern ‘spoken’ content, like programmes of

“Know who you are”Yves Bigot divulged to Backstage the programming philosophy embraced by France’s leading radio station and revealed the important role played by surveys.France - 2 February 2012

Yves Bigot

Les Grosses Têtes


4

cultural interest and programmes comprising elements of suspense or the sharing of personal experiences. Aided by qualitative groups (dubbed ‘focus groups’) in which ten or so listeners discuss programmes and talk about what motivates them to tune in, Mediapanel arranges specifi c actions that enable the station to boost listeners’ satisfaction and, in the longer run, make its audiences happier. The surveys developed in this connection constitute the foundations for RTL Radio’s thinking when it takes strategic choices that are based on key lessons learnt from the respective fi ndings.

In 2010, by regularly following up on such strategic surveys, RTL Radio succeeded in identifying a fresh opportunity associated with listening to and advising listeners on topics such as health and psychology. This was how the programme focussing on societal issues by sharing news, views and experiences, called On est fait pour s’entendre (Listening To Each Other Is What We’re Made For), saw the light of day in the 2010/2011 autumn season. Presented by Flavie Flament, it has since been confi rmed that the programme will be returning for a second season. Likewise, RTL Radio drew on the expertise of its research institute in connection with the arrival of Stéphane Bern, the star presenter for the new season in A la bonne heure. Coming straight from public-sector radio, one of the key issues was to initiate Bern into ‘the RTL way’ of doing things and thereby make him blend in as smoothly as possible with the station’s sound and image. Recommendations on a wide choice of topics were made, including the duration of his analyses, the ‘feel’ of the show and its ‘sound’. Today, the programme is one of the station’s most popular shows, attracting 1,800,000 listeners in cumulative audience per day (total number of people exposed to a media or message for a certain period of time).

Thus, over the past three years, nearly 60 per cent of its programmes scheduled between 05:00 and 20:00 have been renewed, and the station’s listeners’ could not be happier. “This marked a shift for RTL, because in previous years we had not been used to taking this approach,” Yves Bigot conceded, “but at the same time what really sets RTL apart is that it always has its ear to the ground, listening out for listeners’ needs for change”.

RTL Radio also attributes major importance to its music programming. As Yves Bigot puts it: “At RTL, music, like entertainment, is a big part of the station’s genetic makeup, accounting for

22 per cent of its air time”. Being a general-interest radio station, it has a playlist whose tracks are regularly tested (in ‘call outs’ or ‘auditoriums’) to ascertain how recognisable they are, how well they are liked and how ‘old hat’ they come across as. During these tests, the panel of listeners is also exposed to a range of new titles.

The practice of asking its listeners each week how they feel about the most frequently aired songs enables RTL Radio to play music that is very much in line with their tastes and helps it to fi ne-tune its programming. These tools are vital for determining how often the tracks played by the radio station need to be changed and also for ascertaining their useful ‘shelf life’. But the main component in RTL Radio’s music programming is its historical partnerships with artists like Johnny Hallyday or Alain Souchon, specialists in the genre of French chansons.

So one reason why RTL Radio is the top radio station in France today, in other words French listeners’ favourite, is most defi nitely because it has always listened – and is continuing to listen – to what its audience wants. At RTL Radio, any editorial changes are subjected to sober consideration which Yves Bigot likens to “an oil tanker turning very gradually and well in advance, following a very precisely determined course”. No doubt this has been the root of its programming success for a very long time now. And two reasons why RTL Radio is successfully retaining its lead over its rivals are the stability of its management and its ability to move forward without ever losing sight of its values. In a nutshell, Yves Bigot concludes: “It’s all about knowing who you are and how to improve without becoming someone else”.

Flavie Flament


5

Ghislain Thomas (right) and the Mediapanel team

At RTL Radio’s headquarter in rue Bayard, Paris

Facts about Mediapanel

• Based at 22 rue Bayard, in the same building as RTL Radio, Mediapanel is run by Chief Analyst for Editorial Research, Ghislain Thomas, who heads up a team of six specialists

• Mediapanel, which was originally set up to conduct music research for RTL 2 and Fun Radio at the bidding of Tristan Jurgensen, who is currently Managing Director of RTL Net, now places its know-how at the disposal of all of RTL Group’s French radio stations

• Mediapanel is the only operator in France to employ a system that was imported from the United States, based on hand-operated modules that reveal in real time how much listeners appreciate a piece of music played to them

• Mediapanel uses a wide range of methods, ranging from in-depth audience analysis to organising music auditoriums, convening and chairing focus groups and putting together dedicated panels of listeners

• The ‘focus group’ method is particularly useful for pinpointing a programme’s strengths and weaknesses. The participants receive modules enabling them to grade the tested content and convey the emotions they feel whilst listening

• Being a transversal entity, Mediapanel has teamed up with RTL Net, RTL Radio’s digital subsidiary, helping it to redesign the RTL.fr website in 2010. At the same time, it runs tests on the effectiveness of advertising for the group’s communications managers, clarifying the impact of their communications and ascertaining how they were perceived. Pre-tests conducted by Mediapanel before campaigns have been launched serve to validate the chosen approaches, enabling any necessary changes to be made to the proposed posters’ design


6

Among other things, their exclusive licensing deal covers the German free-TV premieres of Walt Disney Pictures, Disney/Pixar and Marvel blockbusters from 2012 on, as well as DreamWorks’s live-action highlights. The agreement also includes high-quality seriesfrom ABC Studios, Disney Channel Original Movies, and attractive titles from the archives. It also gives Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland access to historical Disney classics and the fi rst-window free-to-air TV rights for Disney’s cinematic co-productions in Germany.

Upcoming highlights that will make their German free-to-air TV debut on one of RTL’s channels include the sci-fi adventure John Carter, which opens in German theatres in March; the Disney/Pixar production Brave; and cinematic hits like the epic superhero fi lm Marvel’s The Avengers and the German co-production Frisch Gepresst. Viewers can also look forward to series like Once Upon A Time, the current season’s most successful new show in the US.

Jörg Graf, Head of Programme Buying at Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, says: “We are pleased that we were able to sign this extensive deal with Disney. This investment especially strengthens the fi lm line-up of our channels. We are proud to present upcoming Disney blockbusters on Germany free-to-air TV.”

Robert Langer, Country Manager, The Walt Disney Company GSA, adds: “We are delighted about this far-reaching agreement and our future co-operation. RTL is a perfect TV partner for our hit series and fi lm highlights in Germany. The co-operation between Disney and RTL is a marriage of two brands that each lead their respective sectors.”

Based on the new Disney deal and existing contracts with the major studios Warner Bros., NBC Universal and Studiocanal, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s channels have a strong year ahead in 2012, with plenty of attractive US movies and series.

New blockbusters for Mediengruppe RTL DeutschlandMediengruppe RTL Deutschland and The Walt Disney Company in Germany have signed an extensive multi-year free-to-air TV agreement.Germany - 1 February 2012

Once Upon A Time © : 2011 ABC


7

The fl agship channel RTL Television impressively dominated the German TV market in January, achieving a 19.2 per cent market share among the younger audience, which puts it 7.6 percentage points ahead of competitors ProSieben (11.6 per cent) and Sat1 (9.9 per cent). With an audience share of 14.1 per cent, RTL Television was also clearly in the lead in the overall audience.

One of the reasons for the strong start to the year was the outstanding ratings performance of season six of Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! (I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here!) As many as 7.43 million viewers tuned in for the RTL jungle show. Among young viewers (14 to 49) the show achieved market shares of up to 42.6 per cent. Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Idols) successfully launched into a new season and was watched by as many as 6.21 million viewers in January. Martin Rütter – Die große Hundeshow managed a successful debut in the RTL programme line-up – on 7 January it attracted 22.2 per cent of the 14 to 49 demographic. The new series of Rach, der Restauranttester was watched by up to 6.93 million viewers, drawing up to 25.0 per cent of the 14 to 49 viewer market. With a 19.7 per cent market share in January, RTL Aktuell was once again the most successful prime-time news show among young audiences.

Vox ended January 2012 with an average market share of 7.4 per cent in its target 14 to 49 demographic – an increase of 0.6 percentage points over the previous month and 0.1 percentage points year-on-year. One of the reasons for its excellent ratings was the launch of the third season of Daniela Katzenberger – natürlich blond. The docu-soap was watched by a record audience of 2.29 million on 24 January and achieved an 11.5 per cent market share among the younger audience. The star-studded movie The Devil Wears Prada scored particularly high ratings with a market share of 16.5 per cent in the younger target group.

RTL II achieved top access prime-time ratingsin January. The access prime-time series Berlin – Tag & Nacht achieved a new record market share of 10.5 per cent among younger viewers. RTL II attracted an average 8.0 per cent of the viewer market on weekdays from 19:00 to 20:00 – its highest monthly ratings in this time slot since July 2010. Overall, RTL II achieved a market share of 5.8 per cent in January 2012.

With an average audience share of 25.1 per cent in the target 3- to 13-year-old demographic in January 2012 (between 06:00 and 20:15), Super RTL’s ratings were excellent, up once again year-on-year (24.7 per cent). In particular, the preschool programme Toggolino was an important factor in January’s ratings increase, with an average market share of 54.3 per cent among viewers aged 3 to 5.

The news channel N-TV started 2012 with a market share of 1.0 per cent of the overall audience in both the 14 to 59 and 20 to 49 age groups.

A strong start to the yearIn January 2012, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s channels achieved a combined market share of 35.8 per cent in the 14 to 49 demographic – 7.7 percentage points ahead of the ProSiebenSat1 channels, which together scored 28.1 per cent of the market.Germany - 30 January 2012

Dirk Bach, Brigitte Nielsen, Sonja Zietlow (from left to right)


8

2011 was indeed the year of Original Productions, 75 per cent owned by RTL Group’s production arm, FremantleMedia. The company produces shows such as Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch, America’s Lost Treasures and Ax Men scored no fewer than 23 Emmy nominations and went home with six awards. Other kudos in 2011 include a Producers Guild of America Award. Thom Beers comments: “I’m so proud of my fantastically creative crew, who have worked such long hours.”

Their fl agship production Deadliest Catch, which follows a group of extreme fi shermen hunting in the unforgiving waters of Alaska’s Bering Sea, has been broadcast on the Discovery Channel since 2005. The docu-reality show has proved a hit with viewers. Beers explains some of the reasons for this: “In a world where most reality is scripted, I think viewers appreciate the honesty and authenticity of what we do. We know how to do it best – the other reality shows don’t have the budget, time or skillset. We shot 400 hours of footage for just one hour of TV. […] We have the luxury to wait for something to happen and other producers don’t, and that’s what makes us a commercial success. Great TV is a victim of economics.”

Another viewer favourite is Ice Road Truckers. This adventure reality show was launched in 2007 and is broadcast on W9 in France, RTL 2 in Croatia, Super RTL, RTL Television and N-TV in Germany – all of them RTL Group channels. Now in its fourth season on W9, Groupe M6’s DTT channel, Ice Road Truckers shows how hardy truckers and their XXL-sized trucks confront the frozen rivers of the remote Alaskan territories, carrying out one of the world’s riskiest jobs as they transport essential equipment from the warehouse in Fairbanks to the oilfi elds of the Arctic.

Says Thom Beers: ”My crew are willing to go the extra mile and capture footage in challenging environments.” A formula that has paid off since the season premiere of Ice Road Truckers attracted 1.2 million viewers – a total audience share of 4.9 per cent, well above French DTT channels’ usual average ratings. Ratings on the other RTL Group channels are also good.

As for development plans for the future, Beers replies: “In 2011, we had a stellar year, delivering a programme a day through the end of the year; that’s 240 programmes in total. In 2012, we’re aiming for 280.”

“Great TV is a victim of economics”CEO Thom Beers on the achievements of Original Productions in 2011, and his plans for the future.North America - 1 February 2012

Ice Road Truckers


9

M6 also achieved excellent results with the main commercial target group of housewives aged under 50, with a 17.8 per cent audience share. Between 17:45 and 20:45, the channel ranked second with the entire audience and also scored its best access prime time ratings since May 2001.

The culinary show Un Dîner presque parfait was watched by 2.1 million viewers on aver-age, making M6 the most-watched channel by the entire audience. Up to 2.7 million viewers tuned in to watch 100% Mag on Monday 2 Janu-ary. Le 19h45 was the most-watched television news among housewives under 50 in January, all editions included, while Scènes de Ménages set a new audience record with 5.9 million viewers on Thursday 12 January.

M6 has thus gained 500,000 viewers in access prime time and is successful in every programme genre. The international series are scoring especially well. M6 is the number one channel every Friday evening with season 8 of NCIS (6.8 million viewers) and the channel registered the best series launch since 2006 for

Criminal Minds with 4.9 million viewers. Another audience record was set for the launch of the crime series The Glades with 4.2 million viewers.

News magazines shows were also of much interest to viewers. E=M6 attracted 3.8 million viewers on the theme: “Computer, Internet, Smartphone: how are these innovations changing mankind?” – the highest ratings for themagazine show since March 2008. Zone Interdite gathered 4 million viewers on the theme: “Building the house of their dreams” on Sunday 15 January, making M6 the second most-watched channel with the entire audience. L’Amour est dans le pré (The Farmer Wants A Wife) was watched by 4.8 million viewers on 23 January, setting a new audience record for an episode in which contestants are introduced. Finally, Cauchemar en cuisine with Philippe Etchebest achieved record ratings with 3.7 million viewers on Tuesday 17 January.

Highest increaseIn January 2012, M6 registered a total audience share of 11.8 per cent – an increase of 1.5 percentage points compared to January 2011. It is the highest ratings increase of all the channels and M6’s best monthly performance since June 2008.France - 31 January 2012

Criminal Minds

Scènes de Ménages


10

There were 4,297,000 RTL Radio podcasts downloaded in December 2011 (compared to 4,332,000 in November 2011). Despite the slight decrease, RTL Radio, which ranked fourth two years ago, has also dethroned its competitors in the digital world. RTL Radio’s ratings have exploded by 54 per cent over one year, thus marking the strongest growth among all radio stations. This achieve-ment is the result of a dynamic policy put in place to meet the objectives set in 2010 by Christopher Baldelli, Chairman of the Executive Board of RTL Group’s French radio stations, to “make RTL the digital radio station of tomorrow.”

The ranking of the most downloaded RTL Radio podcasts remains the same, in the following order: Laurent Gerra, for his daily humour column at 8:50, Philippe Bouvard’s Les Grosses Têtes and A la Bonne Heure presented by Stéphane Bern.

Strengthened by its ability to adapt to new modes of media consumption, RTL Radio also remains the leader on the Web this month, with 2,980,000 Unique Visitors (UV) to the RTL.fr website (compared to 2,407,000 UV in November 2011), representing an 11 per cent increase over one year.

Digital explosionOn 25 January 2012, Médiamétrie published the results of the catch-up radio survey for the month of December 2011. RTL Radio moves to the number one spot as the most downloaded radio station in France and is still the leader on the Web.France - 27 January 2012

A la bonne heure presented by Stéphane Bern

Cecile Frot-Coutaz

honouredOn 24 April 2012, Cecile Frot-Coutaz,

CEO of FremantleMedia North America,

became a recipient of the Brandon

Tartikoff Legacy Award in Miami. She

received the prestigious award

from the National Association

of Television Programme

Executives (NATPE)


12

Talent is agelessLess than two weeks after the fi nale of RTL 4’s The Voice of Holland, the channel launched a children’s version of the show with the aim of spotting young vocal talents.The Netherlands - 27 January 2012

Fourth Proyecto Pro degree programme launchesAt the end of January, Fundación Antena 3 started its multimedia course especially launched for disabled students.The Netherlands - 27 January 2012

Discovering the culinary talents of tomorrowThe biggest cooking contest exclusively for professionals has returned for a third season on M6 and RTL-TVI. Fourteen new hopefuls will try to win the coveted Top Chef title.France / Belgium - 30 January 2012

“100 per cent wonderful”Season 6’s fi nale of Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus! (I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here!), was an absolute hit with viewers, attaining record-breaking audience fi gures of 7.43 million on RTL Television and a total audience share of 29.4 per cent.Germany - 30 January 2012

Pushing into TV advertisingAt the beginning of January, the New York Times and the Financial Times ran extensive features on how Google fully embraced TV commercials in 2011, investing several times more than it did the previous year to represent its online brand in the offl ine world.United States - 30 January 2012


13

One seed, one lifeThanks to a campaign launched in November 2011, Fundación Antena 3 was ableto collect more than EUR 127,000 – funds that will be used to help children in Mozambique and their families to fi ght malnutrition.Spain - 31 January 2012

The courage of little MaxineBeginning of January, Bertelsmann published 2010/2011 Corporate Responsibility Report. Presenter Sandrine Corman represents RTL Group in the CR Report and talks about her personal motivation for getting involved in corporate responsibility activities.Luxembourg / Germany - 1 February 2012

A brand-new magazine on N-TVOn 2 February 2012, the news channel N-TV launches Bei Brender!, a new monthly talk show presented by Nikolaus Brender, former editor in chief for WDR and ZDF.Germany - 2 February 2012

A winning internet strategyRTL.be is and remains the number one news website in the French Community of Belgium.Belgium - 2 February 2012

Croatian farmers’ Fairy GodmotherSeason three of Ljubav je na selu (The Farmer Wants A Wife) began on RTL Televizija on 29 January. The fi rst episode of this much-awaited new season proved a hit with viewers.Croatia - 2 February 2012

http://backstage.rtlgroup.frhttp://backstage.rtlgroup.comhttp://backstage.rtlgroup.de

PublisherRTL Group

45, Bd Pierre Frieden

L-1543 Luxembourg

Editor, Design, Production

RTL Group

Corporate Communications

the art of radio programming - rtl group

Documents