Values

C
ologne Cathedral towers majestically
over the banks of the Rhine. For centuries,
it has been the city’s emblem and
landmark. Directly opposite, on the
other side of the river, the new headquarters
of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland
is being built – and with it, another
city landmark.
In the coming months, some 2,000
employees will be moving into the
brick buildings of the former trade fair
grounds facing the cathedral. Together
with its sister stations Vox, N-TV and
Super RTL, RTL Television will occupy
77,000 square meters. The new head-
– 18 –
ENTERING THE TELEVISION BUSINESS
Just the usual
craziness
With the founding of the station RTL Plus in 1984,
Bertelsmann made its first foray into television –
as the partner of a Luxembourg-based company,
and under the leadership of an Austrian executive.
It may be a billion-euro business today, but it
began with a small budget, lots of humor, and
even more improvisational talent.
quarters with its 80-meter-high tower
is another visible sign of the rapid
growth RTL has undergone since its
creation 26 years ago. Today, RTL is the
biggest private broadcaster in Europe.
But the road began in a modest villa
and a bus garage – not in Cologne, but
roughly 200 kilometers southwest of
the city, in Luxembourg.
When the legal foundations for
commercial television were being laid
in Germany in the early 80s,
Bertelsmann’s new chairman of the
board, Mark Wössner, sensed a huge
opportunity. He gathered a group of talented
staff members to seize on the
enormous potential of private television,
which was clear from a quick
glance over the border. But they recog-
nized their own limitations: “We didn’t
have any real experience in television,
aside from being able to turn a TV on
and off without incident,” jokes Bernd
Schiphorst. At that time, Schiphorst
was working for Gruner + Jahr, serving
as a member of the Wössner Group,
and was soon to head up all of
Bertelsmann’s fi lm, TV and radio operations.
Aware of their limits, the team
started looking for a partner. Leo Kirch,
Germany’s premier supplier of fi lm and
television productions, was going in
a different direction. The public
broadcasters ARD and ZDF had extensive
television experience, but
Bertelsmann was not interested in trying
to lure away their personnel. >