Values

64
Group Management Report
Corporate Divisions
RTL Group
RTL Group, the leading European entertainment network,
continued to be highly profi table in 2009, although revenues
and profi ts were below the previous year’s level due
to double-digit declines in the TV advertising markets in
Europe. Revenues for the most recent fiscal year were
€5.4 billion and therefore 6.3 percent down from the previous
year (€5.8 billion), operating EBIT was €793 million, compared
to €927 million in the previous year (-14.5 percent). Th e return
on sales was 14.7 percent (previous year: 16.1 percent). At the
end of the year the RTL Group had a total of 12,520 employees
(December 31, 2008: 12,360).
For the RTL Group, 2009 was characterized by cost-cutting
in order to compensate for revenue losses sustained in the
advertising market. In particular, the company reduced its
program costs but also made cuts in other areas and thereby
lowered its cost basis considerably.
Despite the cost-cutting measures, the various channels within
the RTL Group were able to increase their audience market
shares in almost all core markets. For example, Mediengruppe
RTL Deutschland consolidated its market leadership. In
the Netherlands and Belgium, the families of programs also
gained audience market shares. In France, slight declines at
the main channel M6 were more than compensated by increases
in audience fi gures for the digital niche channel W9.
In the U.K., the Five family of channels recorded a small rise
in their audience market share in an increasingly fragmented
competitive environment.
In terms of revenues and operating EBIT, the channels within
Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland remained below the previous
year due to the crisis in the advertising industry and
price pressure. In the year under review, Groupe M6 generated
slightly higher revenues and income year on year; in this
case, a lower contribution to operating EBIT from the main
channel was more than off set by improved performance by
the digital channels and the diversifi cation business. At Five,
revenues and operating EBIT fell short of the previous year’s
fi gure due to the sharply declining advertising market and
negative exchange-rate eff ects. In 2009 there were impairments
on Five and the Alpha Media Group in Greece, which
has now been fully consolidated for a full fi scal year. Th e Greek
group of channels restructured its program range and thereby
signifi cantly increased its audience market share.
At the Fremantle Media production arm, the declining advertising
market resulted in a slight fall in demand from TV
Revenue Breakdown
6.0
4.5
3.0
1.5
0
€5.8 billion (1.3) %
2.5 % (7.5) %
2008
Exchange rates Portfolioand
other
effects
Organic growth
Change
€5.4 billion
2009
channels for formats. Revenues remained largely stable, however,
and operating EBIT once again reached last year’s record
level. In 2009 it was above all the casting shows produced by
Fremantle Media that achieved extremely high audience
shares in core markets such as the U.S., U.K., Germany and
France. Th e company acquired the US production fi rm Original
Productions in the year under review.
Despite the ongoing program of cost-cutting measures, the
RTL Group continued in 2009 to invest in the expansion of
its digital business segments such as niche channels, online
video services or high defi nition programs, and in diversifi
cation businesses and program production. In 2009 the
Group’s wide range of online platforms in Europe generated
over one billion video calls; further catch-up TV services were
launched, including “Vox Now“ in Germany, “W9 Replay” in
France, or “RTL Most” in Hungary. In Hungary the RTL Group
expanded its capital share of the leading market channel
RTL Klub to 67 percent.
Revenues by Region in percent*
5.1 U.S.
58.1 Other
European countries
* Without intercompany revenues
2.4 Other countries
34.4 Germany
Bertelsmann Annual Report 2009