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RTL Group strives to provide its audiences with high quality products. We are acutely aware of the special nature of the media business, as both an opinion former and information provider, and the responsibilities of a media company towards its communities. Our aim is to offer a broad range of content addressing all of society including both quality information and popular entertainment.
We recognise that business success cannot only be measured in financial terms. Corporate Responsibility has always formed an integral part of our business. The wide range of our activities and initiatives reflects our decentralised corporate structure.
The following text presents a selection of our activities/initiatives: |
| Quality of Programmes |
RTL Group operates across multiple European markets whilst respecting and fostering local operations. The Group is built upon the recognition that success in Europe, with its multitude of different languages, cultures and media regulations can only come through having a strong local presence. All our operations are therefore run by local management. As news and information programmes are central to our programme philosophy, we are committed to achieving the highest quality in these genres. Most of our news programmes are produced in-house. The local CEOs act as publishers and do not interfere in the production of content. The respective editor in chief is responsible for the editorial content. We thus ensure diversity of opinion through cultivating journalistic freedom at all our operations.
All television channels of the German family of channels of RTL Group are members of the Voluntary Self-Control TV (FSF), which has been funded and is supported by various private channels in Germany. The aim of this organisation is to improve the protection of minors in TV and films, and to encourage better understanding of the impact of sex and violence in the media on young people’s development. www.fsf.de
To meet the highest journalistic criteria, RTL Lëtzebuerg has voluntarily created a code of conduct for its journalists. In this “Charte des Journalistes”, the editorial policy and the rights and commitments of both the company and its journalists are laid down. Every journalist has to also agree to this code of conduct when signing his employment contract.
Our channels are already using the latest technology to make programmes more accessible for disabled people. Five in the UK has a strong commitment to its hearing-impaired audience with 60 per cent of the programmes subtitled, rising to 80 per cent in 2008. For digital transmission, sign language translation has been introduced and will grow in the next few years, as will audio description for visually impaired. In France all TV channels are obliged to subtitle a certain number of programming hours. Since 1998 M6 actively participates in this and has in 2005 significantly surpassed the quota of the French Media Authority (CSA) by airing 1'116 hours of subtitled programming.
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| Broad Range of Content |
Our channels offer a wide variety of programme genres. On the other hand each station retains its own particular profile. RTL Television is Germany’s leading private broadcaster for news programmes while M6 in France has a good reputation for its economic and investigative magazines. RTL Radio in France is famous for its political and cultural programmes whilst Five in the UK has a well-regarded strand of arts programmes in co-operation with the Arts Council of England. The recently launched Croatian television channel, RTL Televizija has already built a reputation for its news and entertainment formats.
RTL Group’s production arm FremantleMedia is a world leader in the production of high quality drama and entertainment. Through its extensive network of creative people worldwide, FremantleMedia keeps ahead of emerging trends and has built an impressive record for developing ground-breaking formats that deliver high ratings in all demographics. To protect television formats and promote the concept as unique, intellectual properties to producers, broadcasters and the law FremantleMedia and Grundy Light Entertainment are members of the organisation FRAPA. www.frapa.org
Founded in 2004, Media Smart e.V. is an organisation to foster media and advertising competences of children. Media Smart’s aim is to make children think of the messages and intentions behind advertising, thus learning how deal with it. Super RTL has been one of the founding members of Media Smart and Super RTL’s Managing Director Claude Schmit is the organisation’s Executive Chairman. http://www.mediasmart.de/
Media competence is a key skill in the age of information. To support young people in developing media skills RTL Television in Germany creates media packages for teachers on various topics including daily soaps, working place TV and news programmes. In 2005 RTL Television has jointly launched a media package with the Federal Media Authority for Lower Saxony NLM (Niedersächsische Landesmedienanstalt) and the production company Filmpool about law shows entitled “law shows – between reality and fiction” with the aim to prevent aggression by conveying knowledge and empathy. www.rtl-television.de/3635.html
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| Corporate Governance |
RTL Group recognises the importance of, and is committed to, high standards of good governance. For more information please visit our Annual Report or Corporate Structure section. |
| Society and Communities |
 RTL Television supports children in need for 12 years through its Foundation RTL. RTL Television's donations marathon (Spendenmarathon) which took place from 22 to 23 November 2007 has raised about EUR 5,485 million. With the donations RTL Television is supporting children in need throughout the world. www.spendenmarathon.de
RTL supports the non-profit organisation Hôpitaux de France through its initiative “Pièces Jaunes” (Yellow Coins), The aim of Hôpiteaux de France is to improve the quality of life in hospitals and offer help to sick children. Since its foundation in 1989 the initiative has funded over 5’000 projects in France and in France’s DOMs. For three days the presentors and journalists dedicated their work to Pièces Jaunes through special programmes. The initiative is presided by the wife of the former French President Jacques Chirac. www.fondationhopitaux.fr
In 2006/07 Five and the Arts Council of England, a national development agency for the arts, have launched the third phase of the Fivearts cities initiative in Oxford. Fivearts cities is a unique partnership between Five and Arts Council England designed to showcase the nation’s cultural offering and to encourage people to explore the arts as well as their own  creativity. A series of television documentaries broadcast on Five in primetime highlights the importance of Fivearts. www.five.tv/programmes/fiveartscities
Belgium's family of channels and RTL Luxembourg collected no less than EUR 7.7 million for leukaemia projects through their Télévie fundrasising event in 2007. Télévie was created in order to collect funds to finance and improve research against cancer and children's leukemia. Since 1989, Télévie is active in Belgium and since 2002 in Luxembourg. With the money raised by Télévie more then 1020 research projects have been financed in both countries. www.televie.be and www.televie.lu |
| Employees |
| Motivated employees are a cornerstone of RTL Group’s success.
In addition to the usual employee representations, RTL Group has a European Works Council (EWC) which co-operates with RTL Group management to resolve cross-border employment issues and intervene in situations where staff have limited protection. Meetings are held two to three times per year with the senior management of RTL Group and the members of the EWC, whose members come from across most of the operations and locations within the Group.
RTL Group participated in the global Bertelsmann employee survey in 2002. To follow up the results of this first survey, RTL Group organised, in 2004, the first RTL Group survey - Trend 2004. The results of Trend 2004 have been communicated to employees during the beginning of 2005. Local management are strongly encouraged by Group management to take account of the results of the survey and continue, or start, active measures to improve working conditions. In 2006 RTL Group has also taken part in Bertelsmann's employee survey. The survey results will be communicated to staff at the end of 2006.
In most of our companies, employees participate in their company’s profit through profit participation or are taking part in a reward system and company pension systems.
At M6 an etics code is given to every new arrival. This code sets the rules to be followed by every employee in their behaviour to make choice in the action they take. |
| Environment |
We recognise that our business has an environmental impact. Therefore, we strive for a responsible use of natural resources in the production and distribution of our products and seek to ensure environmentally responsible procurement beyond the existing environmental laws.
For example, M6 has adopted an active policy of recycling waste generated by its operations (batteries, neon lights, etc.) as well as a policy of energy control (consumption of water, electricity, etc.). |
| Ratings |
 FTSE4Good Index: member
RTL Group has been independently assessed according to the FTSE4Good criteria, and has satisfied the requirements to become a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series. Created by the independent financial index company FTSE Group, FTSE4Good is a financial index series that is designed to identify and facilitate investment in companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. Companies in the FTSE4Good Index Series are doing more to manage their social, ethical and environmental impacts, and are better positioned to capitalise on the benefits of responsible business practice. www.ftse.com/ftse4good/index.jsp |
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