week 24 / 11 June 2014

The future.Together. Now.All you need to know about the Management Congress 2014

week 24 / 11 June 2014

The future.Together. Now.All you need to know about the Management Congress 2014

CoverRTL Group’s Executive Committee opening the Management Congress

PublisherRTL Group

45, Bd Pierre FriedenL-1543 Luxembourg

Editor, Design, ProductionRTL Group

Corporate Communications & Marketing

backstage.rtlgroup.com backstage.rtlgroup.fr backstage.rtlgroup.de

Think before you print

QUICK VIEW

The future.Together.Now.RTL Groupp.4–9

Content:“Enhance ideas,

transfer ideas”RTL Group

p.14–15

Broadcast:“We have to bundle

our creativity”RTL Group

p.10–13

Let’s get digitalRTL Group

p.16–19

External speakers, insightful presentationsRTL Groupp.20–23

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THE FUTURE. TOGETHER.

NOW.

Luxembourg – 11 June 2014

RTL Group

More than 260 executives

from RTL Group’s business units all around

the world met in Hilversum/Amsterdam for the

Management Congress 2014. RTL Group’s

Executive Committee kicked off the event with a presentation of the current status and the challenges

of the Group.

Elmar Heggen (left), CFO of RTL Group, Anke Schäferkordt and Guillaume de Posch, Co-CEOs of RTL Group

5

After a lunch reception at RTL Nederland’s famous Studio 21 in the Hilversum Media Park, RTL Group’s Executive Committee welcomed the executives to the Management Congress 2014. Guillaume de Posch, Co-CEO of RTL Group, said: “It’s been a while since the last Management Congress and it is good to have you all here to openly discuss new ideas.” Anke Schäferkordt, Co-CEO of RTL Group, added: “We should use this congress to explore the key challenges we face as a Group and the key trends in viewing habits, programming and new business models. In other words, let’s discuss: The future. Together. Now.” During the session, Anke Schäferkordt, Guillaume de Posch and RTL Group Chief Financial Offi cer Elmar Heggen highlighted the achievements since the last Management Congress in 2011. The presentation itself was structured into three parts – each presented by a member of the Executive Committee.

What did we achieve?

Heggen reviewed the results of the past few years, saying: “Please enjoy this slide: these are your results – and we as the Executive Committee are very grateful that we can rely on such experienced, fl exible and creative management teams across our whole Group.” Heggen said that RTL Group had changed since the last Management Congress in 2011, and emphasised how the re-IPO process in 2013 had required a lot of work: “A big thank-you to all of you who were involved, not only in the Corporate Centre but also in our business units, for their dedication and commitment. You made the IPO a big success!” He ended his speech with a call to action, pointing out that, given the results, RTL Group has enough fi nancial headroom for substantial investments: “After years of optimisation and with an improving macro-economic environment in most of our countries, growth is now on our agenda. The Executive Committee is ready to accept longer payback phases for new investments – especially with

investments that entertain to further strengthen our digital businesses, as they will be key in making our Group future-proof.”

What has changed?

De Posch went on to talk about changes in the marketplace which can be summarised by one word: fragmentation. Being fragmentation of channels or formats or driven by new VOD offers. “State-of-the-art technology is a key driver for our digital businesses, from online advertising sales to audience measurement and video recommendations.” De Posch underlined this by taking a look at the companies RTL Group already competes with or will compete with in the future: global internet and tech companies that enter the content market or are working on developing tomorrow’s TV sets or sophisticated advertising offers. De Posch: “We have defi ned a clear strategy: broadcast, content, digital. And we can now see the fi rst results. But we want to do more.”

Where do we want to go?

Anke Schäferkordt highlighted four top priorities for the future – best in content, best in online video, best at monetising and best in people. She underlined that it is important to “manage schizophrenia” as margins in the core business need to be protected, while on the other hand new digital opportunities might require the mentality of those challenging the classic business models. Anke Schäferkordt closed her presentation by explaining what is meant by “re-inventing” RTL Group: cooperation, risk taking and open discussions. Schäferkordt said: “We know that we are very good, even excellent in many areas. But we should also challenge each other more.” Secondly, she emphasised that the company has to follow new paths and create an atmosphere where employees are motivated to take more risks, where they feel responsible for the output. She said: “We as supervisors have to show our teams that we want a frank and really open discussion – that

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RTL Group Chief Financial Offi cer Elmar Heggen RTL Group Co-CEO Guillaume de Posch

we want to hear their ideas.” Finally, this will lead to a need for more speed in every aspect, such as decision making, developing new formats, new business models, and also in rolling them out across the international network.

The introduction was followed by sessions on broadcast and content, before the fi rst day of congress closed with a boatride and a dinner at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam.

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RTL Group Co-CEO Anke Schäferkordt

01: Welcome to the RTL Group Management Congress 2014

02: Matthias Scholten, Managing Director Content at RTL Nederland; Sangeeta Desai, CFO and COO of FremantleMedia; and Frank Hoffmann, Programme Managing Director at RTL Television

03: RTL Group’s Co-CEOs Anke Schäferkordt and Guillaume de Posch with Bert Habets, CEO of RTL Nederland, welcoming the participants

04: Lunch Reception at Studio 21

01.

02. 03.

04.

05: Christopher Baldelli (left), CEO of RTL Radio in France, and Jacques Esnous, News Director at RTL Radio in France

06: Thomas Rabe, Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann

07: Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of Groupe M6

08: Thomas Valentin, Matthias Scholten, Peter Kolosi, Frank Hoffmann, Christopher Baldelli and Gert Zimmer

09: Guillaume de Posch and Leslie Moonves, President and CEO of CBS Corporation

10: Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia

05.

06.

07.

08.

09. 10.

11: Wolf Bauer, CEO of UFA, and Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia

12: Elmar Heggen, CFO of RTL Group

13: Reception at the Maritime Museum

14: Shahrzad Rafati, CEO of Broadband TV, and Romain Mannelli, Executive Vice President HR at RTL Group

15: Dinner at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam

11.

12.

13.

15.

14.

16: Guillaume de Posch

17: Marc Schröder, Managing Director, RTL Interactive

18: Anke Schäferkordt, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Group and Bert Habets

19: The venue of the Management Congress: Studio 21

20: Guillaume de Posch

16.

18. 19.

20.

17.

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Hosted by Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of Groupe M6, the fi rst session of the Management Congress 2014 focused on the TV and radio broadcasting business.Luxembourg – 6 June 2014

The session started with a presentation on RTL Group’s roots and oldest business: radio. Frank Hoffmann from RTL Television then explored and explained the rapidly changing viewing behaviour ofthe audiences, in particular among younger viewers. Finally, three programme executives presented the main trends in TV programming and how it affects RTL Group’s families of channels.

Contradicting The Buggles’ prediction Video killed the radio star, “we are still alive and in pretty good shape”, explained Gert Zimmer, CEO of RTL Radio Deutschland. In fact, RTL radio stations reach around 35 million people on weekdays in France, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg and Germany. For Christopher Baldelli, CEO of RTL Radio in France:”Digital is actually much more a chance than a threat. Smartphones, PC tablets, all offer new ways of listening to radio, which helps increase the reach of radio.” As a conclusion, the internet upgrades radio and offers an array of possibilities forviewers to continue enjoy listening to it, especially if the high quality of programmes is maintained.

“WE HAVE TO BUNDLE OUR CREATIVITY AND MUSTER THE COURAGE TO BET ON OUR OWN IDEAS”

RTL Group

Frank Hoffmann from RTL Television explored and explained the rapidly changing viewing behaviour of the audiences, in particular among younger viewers

Nicolas de Tavernost, CEO of Groupe M6, host of the fi rst session of the Management Congress 2014

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Frank Hoffmann also talked about the internet and the threats and opportunities it represents for TV. “Today, viewers still love great stories, but watch them on different types of screens. Even if TV remains the preferred medium for entertainment, as viewers have a variety of medium to choose from – linear as well as non-linear – we have a huge battle to fi ght for attention,” he pointed out. With this in mind, Hoffmann believes broadcasters shouldn’t underestimate the share of non-linear usage and they need to make the most out of the internet by developing new scheduling and marketing strategies. Even if TV is here to stay, the conventional idea of the audience doesn’t exist anymore. As a consequence, he said: “our content has to be unique, and unique will be more diffi cult. So we have to become more of an incubator of new ideas and less of an aggregator. We have to bundle our creativity and muster the courage to bet on our own ideas,” he fi nished.

Four big TV genres were distinguished in order to present the programming trends. While Thomas Valentin from Groupe M6 concentrated on US series & fi lms and Sports, Peter Kolosi from RTL Hungary spoke about local fi ction and Matthias Scholten from RTL Nederland focused on non-fi ction. General trends were that hits are not as powerful as they used to and this is especially true for RTL Group’s fl agship channels. Also, big brands have shorter life cycles and need to be re-invented yearly. Then, a tendency towards niche programming was observed.

For Christopher Baldelli, CEO of RTL Radio in France: “Digital is actually much more a chance than a threat. Smartphones, PC tablets, all offer new ways of listening to radio, which helps increase the reach of radio.”

Peter Kolosi from RTL Hungary spoke about local fi ction

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Thomas Valentin pointed out that “American series are no longer TV’s bread and butter, as their average prime-time ratings have decreased in the past fi ve years and new series are not as powerful as the ones created fi ve to ten years ago.” The main reasons being the fact that the success formula of US series is changing and traditional cycles are being challenged. Series are more serialised, consist of fewer episodes and don’t allow for much right protection for European broadcasters. As for US fi lms, “they are not exclusive anymore so what we need to do is buy selectively, at good value and scout for independent productions,” said Valentin before adding: “Nevertheless US feature fi lms are very powerful on second generation channels. It boosts their grid. So building up a family of channels is essential to be able to buy these blockbusters.”

“As US fi ction loses importance in Europe, can local fi ction take over?” asked Peter Kolosi and throughout his presentation he tried to give an answer. After giving examples of successful local formats such as Budapest Day & Night (RTL Klub), Divorce (RTL 4) and Velvet (Antena 3), he continued: “If we want to export a format successfully, local adaptation is a must.” In fact in the last few years historical dramas became real hits, probably because they refl ectlocal market’s national history. To conclude he had this to say: “Local fi ction will defi nitely be one of our main pillars for fl agship channels. Local fi ction so far in many markets was limited to daily soaps but we have to fi nd the ways of productions of weekly prime time ones as well. Such productions are quite challenging: budgets are still too high, co-productions seem to be diffi cult, but when you see the successful examples, you know that it is possible, or even compulsory since it will be part of the DNA of the modern fl agship channels.”

Matthias Scholten took over from Kolosi, expanding on non-fi ction. He started by saying that “A genre never dies” and by that he meant that “a little twist on a format can make the difference,” and cited as example talent shows which thanks to new features continue to thrive. Proof of this are The Voice and Rising Star. “This is the situation for about all genres in the US and in Europe”, he observed, so he believes that interactivity is the savior for the next generation of game shows and talent shows.

Matthias Scholten from RTL Nederland expanded on non-fi ction

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Scholten then gave an example of a genre which is also thriving, namely reality shows, and this because they are marketed as social experiments. That’s the case with RTL 5’s Adam looking for Eve – a dating show but with naked people. Also, coaching formats are rarer in most countries, so in the Netherlands they took it a little further and created ‘hard coaching’ formats, such as Verslaafd, where drug addicts are forced into rehab by their families. Then, the newcomer in genres is the character-driven reality format (Jersey Shore, Les Ch’tis). These are big hits on linear and non-linear because “they are centrered on real life situations and strange, over-the-top but nice characters,” he said an concluded with: “Small changes can have a huge impact on a format, so we need to have the guts to take a risk.”

Switching back to Thomas Valentin, the M6 executive gave a short overview on Sports with the main message being the necessity to invest in big sport events and such as football, despite the pricey rights as sport events attract mass audiences and boost the broadcasters image and status.

Overall the session lead to the following fi nal conclusions: US series are down, sports is expensive and feature fi lms are eroding so the priority is to keep the fl agship channels effi cient, attractive andfuture-proof. RTL Group broadcasters need to create powerful formats and focus on non-fi ction, local fi ction and reality/events. This can be done by defending RTL Group’s fl agship channels, enhancing creativity and invest in local productions.

Thomas Valentin, Head of Programming at Groupe M6, gave an overview on Sports

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The ‘Content’ session at the RTL Group Management Congress 2014 hosted by FremantleMedia, CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz underlined the importance of scale when it comes to supporting and investing in content. Luxembourg – 6 June 2014

Cécile Frot-Coutaz kicked off the session by talking about TV hits, claiming that the term needs to be re-defi ned, given that no new production of the past few years matches the old defi nition. Looking at recent hits like Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones and House Of Cards, she said: “Their success was based not on ratings earned on a single platform, but on their traction, their ability to generate a buzz and their ability to travel.” To create such hits, Cécile Frot-Coutaz said that winning players on the content market will need to have “scale to support and invest; a global footprint to roll out formats; and local roots to adapt content to local tastes if necessary.” She closed by defi ning the ingredients all hits require: producer creativity, broadcaster bravery, and a willingness to take risks.

Rob Clark, Director Global Entertainment Development at FremantleMedia, emphasized on the globalisation of the format market. “The market has changed dramatically over the past ten years and is now completely globalised,” he said and explained how FremantleMedia has responded to this by increasing its development capacities in the local markets and through acquisitions. “We use our global spread to enhance ideas, transfer ideas and sell outside the traditional territories,” he said. Looking to the future, he said the new generation of viewers wants to immerse themselves into a given format.

“ENHANCE IDEAS, TRANSFER IDEAS” RTL Group

Cécile Frot-Coutaz kicked off the ‘Content’ session by talking about TV hitsRob Clark, Director Global Entertainment Development at FremantleMedia, emphasized on the globalisation of the format market

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Thom Beers, CEO of FremantleMedia North America, went on to describe the US TV market, which is characterised by networks on the one hand and cable channels on the other. He explained the different trends in unscripted formats that are currently popular on US television and said that FremantleMedia is very well equipped to meet this trend with FremantleMedia North America and its subsidiaries Original Productions and the recently acquired 495 Productions, which complement each other very well.

Sarah Doole, Director of Global Drama at FremantleMedia, picked up on the trend of scripted content, saying: “If we get authenticity right, we create a channel-defi ning show due to its emotional bond to the viewer.” As the speakers before her had pointed out, good ideas nowadays originate around the world. “Being local is ever moreimportant”, Doole said, “and the quality of local productions is increasing.” She emphasised that this leads to an increased need for co-productions to cover the higher costs involved.

Gayle Gilman, Executive Vice President Digital Content at FremantleMedia North America, explained her view on digital content: “It’s getting harder to distinguish between online content and TV: digital content creators are becoming TV channels, while TV channels are be-coming original digital content creators.” Adrien Labastire of Groupe M6’s Golden Moustache gave the fi nal presentation of the session, explaining the concept of Golden Moustache and how original digital content production differs from classic TV production.

Thom Beers, CEO of FremantleMedia North America

Sarah Doole, Director of Global Drama at FremantleMedia: “If we get authenticity right, we create a channel-defi ning show due to its emotional bond to the viewer.”

Gayle Gilman, Executive Vice President Digital Content at FremantleMedia North America

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In the digital session, hosted by Bert Habets, CEO of RTL Nederland, the presenters discussed different models for monetisation in the digital space.Luxembourg – 10 June 2014

Bert Habets introduced the session with a remake of the 80s hit Let’s get physical renamed to Let’s get digital. The whole session was enhanced by video interviews taken in Amsterdam, Paris and Cologne in which viewers explained their views on advertising, whether they are willing to pay for content and how they see the future of TV. The session was divided into fi ve parts, each representing a different approach to monetisation. Habets said: “Overseeing the presentations

and the digital efforts of the last 12 months I think we are making good progress, but I can’t help but wonder if we lost something essential along the way. If we want to change things and do things differently we can’t rest easy.”

The Salesman

Matthias Dang, Managing Director of the German sales house IP Deutschland, explained how advertising works in the digital space and compared traditional TV to digital video. “TV is still the most effective medium in terms of advertising,” he said and called for a common measurement system

across all devices to avoid a duplication of contacts. “We can only sell contacts that we can reliably count. In many countries we will have this data in the near future.” But Dang warned that the implementation of this convergent video currency should not be left to other parties who might follow their own interests. Additionally, he addressed that automation, meaning the automated sale of commercials or video ads based on certain criteria, has become “a crucial part of our ad selling and will increase in the future.”

LET’S GET DIGITAL! RTL Group

Bert Habets introduced the session

Matthias DangNext >

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The Technologist

Shahrzad Rafati, CEO of BroadbandTV, went on to explain the business model of multichannel networks and how technology increases the exploitation of video usage on the internet. With BroadbandTV’s technology intellectual property owners can identify their content in user-generated uploads on video platforms and claim advertising revenues. Shahrzad Rafati also presented recently signed agreement with FremantleMedia to monetise user generated content. Addressing the audience Shahrzad Rafati closed by saying: “We look forward to working with many of you in the near future.”

The Content Creator

Keith Hindle, CEO Digital and Branded Entertainment at FremantleMedia, explained the importance of creating intellectual property. “Content is king,” he said. “But every king needs a castle.” The four crucial elements of the digital architecture are a long-term scalable business model, owned ad sales capabilities, owned and operated digital destinations and last but not least: high quality content. “It is possible to embrace a platform such as Youtube and use it to drive traffi c to your own sites,” he explained. Additionally, multichannel networks increase the quality of digital native content and creating new intellectual properties.

Shahrzad Rafati

Keith Hindle

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The Distributor

Marc Schröder, Managing Director of RTL Interactive in Germany, explained the signifi cance of distribution revenues for monetisation. He said: “RTL Group has seen a swing to profi tability in terms of distribution over the past fi ve years.” Still, retransmission fees only make a small percentage of RTL Group’s annual revenues, but offer a huge potential, looking at the US market where distribution makes two digit fi gures of revenues. While distribution revenues for high defi nition TV do not cannibalise advertising as viewers still can watch the channels is standard defi nition, the dilemma in digital is that both advertising and distribution revenues could be lost as platform fees slow down growth in reach, thus advertising revenues. At the same time free VOD platforms with an exclusive offer can kill paid models. Thus Marc Schröder proposed a balanced strategy to bundle TV and digital and develop a consistent model across devices and platforms; and keep the prices high by introducing extra services and to growth the overall market. “Distribution is a long-term play and requires painful compromise,” he concluded. “But it’s profi table.”

The Consumer

Arno Otto, Managing Director Digital at RTL Nederland, talked about different models from a consumer perspective. “In the end, it’s all about getting eyeballs to watch your content,” he said. While many of the new emerging VOD offers only have a limited number of exclusive content, RTL Group is in the favourable position to have a vast catalogue of productions that can be offered exclusively on its VOD platforms. “What can we do?” he asked. “Leaving the choice to the consumer.” RTL Nederland offers different models, a free catch-up service with RTL XL, a subscription-based service in collaboration with SBS and the public broadcasters with NL Ziet and the VOD platform Videoland.

Marc Schröder

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Using the example of Divorce, he explained that exclusive content prior to broadcast on TV boosted both VOD revenues and audience share on the air. Key elements for VOD content are: “Exclusive content to strengthen the product USP, iconic contents to create brands and serialised contents to create higher viewer engagement.”

Before the session closed, the participants were asked to vote which of the models had the biggest potential. They decided for the distributor. Bert Habets closed the session saying: “Let’s once again be the company that shakes things up.” Besides sharing information and best practice exchange, he said, developing the skillset and recruiting the right talents in technology will be a must for effi ciently creating and monetising content in the future. Habets added. “To increase our presence in the digital space, the Group will have a more centralised acquisition strategy for digital assets and technology. In order to build this into a success story we need more intense joint support and cooperation between Group and the profi t centres.” Referring to the start of the session with the 1980s music video he closed the session by saying: “Let us become the rebels of the 80s in this digital space, now that market structures and trends are visible and clear. We now have a clear view on the opportunities, we now need to take them on board!”

Arno Otto

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Over two days, fi ve external speakers shared their insights with the RTL Group Management Congress participants, including the CEOs of the number one US network, CBS; of RTL Group’s majority shareholder, Bertelsmann; and of the world’s largest communications services group, WPP. Luxembourg – 10 June 2014

Leslie Moonves

The President and Chief Executive Offi cer of CBS Corporation, Leslie Moonves, was the fi rst speaker to address the “like-minded people”, as he called the RTL Group audience. During his short introduction

regarding CBS Corp he expressed his pride at being compared to RTL Group: “I am proud when people compare CBS to RTL, because I think the values, the standards, the quality are very similar in both companies.” And later in his speech explaining: “It is interesting the comparison to RTL, we are both broadcasters, we are both leaders,we have both strong distribution systems, we

both believe in the current world of advertising, yet we are shifting to more non-advertising revenues. We both still believe in the radio business, yes it is a good business, but more importantly we continue to realise that the best content usually wins out.” Moonves also described the transformation of CBS over the past fi ve years into a pure content-based company and how it has changed the perception of the company.

EXTERNAL SPEAKERS, INSIGHTFUL PRESENTATIONS RTL Group

The President and Chief Executive Offi cer of CBS Corporation, Leslie Moonves

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“I AM PROUD WHEN PEOPLE COMPARE CBS TO RTL, BECAUSE I THINK THE VALUES, THE STANDARDS, THE QUALITY ARE VERY SIMILAR IN BOTH COMPANIES.”Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Offi cer of CBS Corporation

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Expressing his core beliefs about the strength of TV he stressed: “This is the golden age of television in the United States certainly and I think throughout the world”. He continued by saying: “I do not think that there has been more quality television on the air internationally than there is today. It is a great time and the opportunities are phenomenal, we just have to learn how to sell it better.”

Thomas Rabe

The second guest speaker was Thomas Rabe, Chairman of the RTL Group Board of Directors and Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann. Rabe presented Bertelsmann’s objectives and explained how RTL Group’s broadcast, content and digital strategy “fi ts perfectly well” and “is fully compatible with” Bertelsmann. Therefore, he said, “RTL Group will continue to be a priority for Bertelsmann”.

Rabe called RTL Group’s performance “outstanding”. Analysing the key elements of this performance, he said that “RTL has a business model which works and this is refl ected in many parameters”, including the fact that RTL Group is very well placed in the markets it operates in. In addition, he underlined that the main element of this performance is the combination of “the quality of management and continuity”. Rabe concluded his speech by reiterating that Bertelsmann has “absolutely no intention” of further reducing its shareholding in RTL Group, as RTL Group and its businesses remain a key element of Bertelsmann.

Thomas Rabe, Chairman of the RTL Group Board of Directors and Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann

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“RTL GROUP WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PRIORITY FOR BERTELSMANN.”

Thomas Rabe, Chairmain of the RTL Group Board

of Directors and Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann

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Sir Martin Sorrell

The perspective from the world’s largest communications services group, was presented by the CEO of WPP Group, Sir Martin Sorrell during a conversation led by RTL Group’s Co-CEO Anke Schäferkordt. Sir Sorrell talked about the winning combination about TV and internet. Addressing his “third largest media relationship” audience (Bertelsmann and RTL Group), after Rupert Murdoch’s “old” News Corp and Google, he analysed the trends in the international advertising markets, stressing the fact that Asia and particularly China present huge opportunities for growth.

He summed up his message to the audience in an acronym, PICS, where P stands for Partnership, I for Inventory, C for Content and S for silos. Explaining this acronym, Sir Sorrell said that changes are taking place and broadcasters and agencies have to jointly adapt their business model in order to ensure their sustainability. Sir Sorrell said: “Things are changing and we going to have to adapt our modeltogether, by the way, we are just as a legacy as you are, we are a legacy company. We had to change. Half our revenues today did not exist in 2000 in fast grow markets and digital.” Therefore, according to Sir Sorrell, WPP would like to build on its partnership with RTL Group and collaborate on developing its inventory. Addressing the content issue, Sir Sorrell said that for WPP, investing in content is “just like [it is for] you, really important”. As far as the synergies between WPP group members are concerned, he emphasised the importance of effective horizontal collaboration among a group’s different entities, which ultimately leads to a much more powerful company.

Referring to the weakness of the Western European economy, he said: “You overcome that by exchanging knowledge, information and experience and not re-inventing the wheel in different counties.” Commenting on TV viewing habits, he added: “TV is here to stay, the interesting thing in the last few years is that when unemployment is being high lots of people are watching TV for the obvious reason that they are consuming food in homes much more that they used to. TV has been remarkably resilient.” In addition to this, he pointed out that broadcasters need to look at the viewing habits especially of young people and adapt their offers accordingly.

CEO of WPP Group, Sir Martin Sorrell

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“THINGS ARE CHANGING AND WE GOING TO HAVE TO ADAPT OUR MODELTOGETHER, BY THE WAY, WE ARE JUST AS A LEGACY AS

YOU ARE, WE ARE A LEGACY COMPANY.”

Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Group

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Hal Gregersen

Executive Director of the MIT Sloan Leadership Center, Hal Gregersen elaborated the topic of innovation in an inspirational and motivational way. Axing his presentation around some successful examples from the international entrepreneurial world, he analysed the DNA of disruptive and innovative companies. More specifi cally, he analysed their processes and their philosophy, and unveiled how business leaders discover pioneering strategies which ultimately lead to powerful results.

He also stressed the importance of questioning the established business models. Leaders must be inspired by the genuine curiosity and spontaneity of kids who constantly explore the world, observe their environment and ask questions. Used in a constructive way, this questioning and observation will lead to innovation. He said: “There are no wrong answers, but wrong questions”. In this context, Gregersen also touched on the topic of creativity and how “everyone has more creative capacity than they think”. This creativity can be developed by networking with people of different cultural, gender, and educational backgrounds.

Neil Shelton

In his capacity as Executive Director of Media and Telecoms Equity Sales at Morgan Stanley, Neil Shelton elaborated on how the capital markets view RTL Group. Outlining the overall media landscape and how this is perceived by investors, Shelton said: “The market is now looking at TV once again (…) as a really quite exciting sector”.

In terms of the market’s attitude and view of RTL Group, he added that: “RTL Group is the market-leading TV business, and TV is a well-liked industry. RTL Group is seen as the highest quality broadcast franchise out there and let’s be honest as you look across your market shares in Europe that is pretty diffi cult to argue with.”

Executive Director of the MIT Sloan Leadership Center, Hal Gregersen

Executive Director of Media and Telecoms Equity Sales at Morgan Stanley, Neil Shelton

“EVERYONE HAS MORE CREATIVE CAPACITY THAN THEY THINK.”

Hal Gregersen,Executive Director o fthe MIT Sloan

Leadership Center

“RTL GROUP IS SEEN AS THE HIGHEST QUALITY BROADCAST FRANCHISE OUT THERE AND LET’S BE HONEST AS YOU LOOK ACROSS YOUR MARKET SHARES IN EUROPE THAT IS PRETTY DIFFICULT TO ARGUE WITH.”Neil Shelton,Executive Director of Media and Telecoms Equity Sales at Morgan Stanley

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