RTL Group

RTL Group S.A.
Type Public
Industry Media
Founded 2000
Headquarters Kirchberg, Luxembourg
Key people Siegfried Luther, Chairman
Gerhard Zeiler, CEO
Elmar Heggen, CFO
Products Television
Radio
Revenue €5.774 billion (2008) [1]
Employees 9,191 (2008)
Parent Bertelsmann
Website www.rtlgroup.com

RTL Group (LuxSE: RTL) is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11[2] countries. This Luxembourg-based media group operates TV channels and radio stations in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Luxembourg, Spain, Greece , Hungary, Croatia and production companies in the United States.

It is one of the world's leading producers of television content such as game shows and soaps (particularly through its ownership of London-based FremantleMedia), including The X Factor, Pop Idol, Good Times, Bad Times, The Price Is Right, Family Feud, and The Bill.

RTL originally stood for Radio Télévision Luxembourg (in French) or Radio Television Luxemburg (in German).

The RTL Group started in 1931 as CLR or Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion which operated Radio Luxembourg. CLR was one of 23 founding broadcasting organisations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950. The RTL Group is still an EBU-member under a previous name: CLT Multi Media. In 1954 it was renamed CLT or Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion and started television broadcasts. In 1997 it merged with Hamburg-based UFA Film- und Fernseh-GmbH (not to be confused with pre 1945 UFA) to create CLT-UFA. In 2000 it merged with Pearson TV and became RTL Group, which also allowed it to enter the American broadcast market. As of December 2011, Bertelsmann owns 91.6% of the company.

One of the major reasons for RTL's early success, apart from the merits related to the programming content itself, was that Luxembourg allowed commercial radio and TV stations long before other European countries. This flexibility enabled RTL to transmit to other countries (such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands) in their own languages. Many British radio presenters began their careers on Radio Luxembourg before moving to the BBC and to commercial broadcasters in the UK. In the 1970s, Radio Luxembourg's English-language audiences declined as a result of new music stations in the UK, and the service ceased broadcasting in the early 1990s on the Astra 1A satellite. Radio Luxembourg relaunched in November 2005 and is currently available online at www.radioluxembourg.co.uk and on Digital Radio Mondiale. A sister station, Atlantic 252 was a long-wave radio station jointly run by RTL Group and Irish broadcaster RTÉ. It ceased broadcasting live on December 20, 2001.

Contents

Television stations

Stations are listed with RTL's current share ownership percentage in brackets.

RTL TVI (66%)
Club RTL (66%)
Plug TV (66%)
RTL Televizija (74%)
RTL 2 (100%)
RTL Plus (100%)
Fun TV (100%)
M6 (48.8%)
M6 Boutique La Chaîne (100%)
M6 Music Hits (100%)
M6 Music Rock (100%)
M6 Music Black (100%)
Paris Première (100%)
RTL9 (35%)
Série Club (50%)
Téva (51%)
TF6 (50%)
W9 (100%)
RTL Television (100%)
VOX (99.7%)
RTL II (35.9%)
Super RTL (50%)
n-tv (100%)
K1010 (19.87%) - closed
Traumpartner TV (100%) - closed
Passion (50%, pay-TV)
RTL Crime (100%, pay-TV)
RTL Living (100%, pay-TV)
Alpha TV (66.6%)
Kanali 9 Thessaloniki (66.6%)
RTL Klub (100%)
Cool (100%)
Film+ (100%)
Film+2 (100%)
Reflektor (100%)
Prizma (100%)
Sorozat+ (100%)
Muzsika TV (100%)
RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg (100%)
Den 2. RTL (100%)
RTL 4 (73.7%) (started in 1989 as RTL Veronique, renamed in 1990 as RTL 4)
RTL 5 (73.7 %)
RTL 7 (formerly known as Yorin) (73.7%)
RTL 8 (formerly known as Talpa, Tien) (73.7%)
RTL Lounge (73.7%) (digital channel)
RTL Crime (unknown) (digital channel)[3]
RTL 24 (73.7%) (TV on your mobile)
National Media Group (REN TV, Channel One, Channel 5) (7.5%)
Antena 3 (18.6%)
Antena.Nova (18.6%)
Antena.Neox (18.6%)

Former stations

Radio stations

Station followed by RTL's present share amount percentage.

France

RTL (100%)
RTL 2 (100%)
Fun Radio (100%)

Germany

104.6 RTL (100%)
RTL Radio (100%)
The Wave (German radio)(de) (100%)
Antenne Bayern (16%)
Radio Hamburg (29.17%)
Radio NRW (16.96%)
Radio 21 (17.3%)
Big FM (7.74%)
Radio Regenbogen (15.75%)
Radio Dresden (31.9%)
Radio Leipzig (31.9%)
Radio Chemnitz (31.9%)
Radio Lausitz (31.9%)
Radio Zwickau (31.9%)
Vogtland Radio (31.9%)
Hit radio RTL (30.5%)
Antenne Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (19.7%)
Radio Brocken (53.5%)
89.0 RTL (53.5%)
Antenne Thüringen (15%)
Radio Ton (2%)
BB Radio (unknown)
105'5 Spreeradio (33.8%)
Radio Top 40 (unknown)
Oldie 95 (4.78%)
Rock Antenne (16%)

Greece

Alpha Radio (66.6%)
Palmos 96.5 fm (66.6%)

Luxembourg

RTL Radio Letzebuerg (100%)
RTL Radio (100%)

Netherlands

Radio 538 (73,7%)
538 Juize
Radio 10 Gold
Radio 10 Gold - Top 4000 Radio
Radio 10 Gold - Disco Classics Radio
Radio 10 Gold - 90's Hits
Radio 10 Gold - 80's Hits
Radio 10 Gold - 60's & 70's Hits
RTL Lounge Radio

Belgium

Bel RTL (44,2%)(but operational control)
Radio Contact (Belgium) (44,2%)(but operational control)
Mint (44,2%)(but operational control)

Spain

Onda Cero (18.6%)
Europa FM (18.6%)

Russia

National Media Group (Radio Petersburg, Radio RSN) (7,5%)

Romania

Romantic FM (~15%)
News FM (~15%)
Metropol FM (~15%)
Radio Contact (1990-2003, now: Kiss FM)

Moldova

Radio Contact (1998-2003, now: Kiss FM, Chişinău branch)

Bulgaria

Radio Contact (1999-2002, now: Radio 1 (Bulgaria))

Former stations

Websites

Germany

wer-kennt-wen (100%)

Technical Services

Located in Luxembourg, Broadcasting Center Europe is a European company providing technical services in the fields of TV, Radio, Telecommunications and IT. BCE was founded in January 2000 as a result of the merger of several technical entities of the RTL Group.

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Rtlgroup :: About Us :: At A Glance
  3. ^ http://www.totaaltv.nl/?action=nieuws&id=5568
  4. ^ "RTL Group sells UK broadcaster Five" (Press release). RTL Group. 23 July 2010. http://www.rtlgroup.com/www/htm/home_news.aspx?ID=C57D4206AF294A979A24C3EE4270E175. Retrieved 24 July 2010. 

External links

LuxX Index companies of Luxembourg