RTL Group - Definition and Overview

RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company. It has 26 television and 24 radio stations in 9 countries. This Luxembourg-based media group operates TV channels and radio stations in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, UK, Luxembourg, Spain, Hungary and Croatia. It is one of the world's leading producers of television content such as game shows and soaps, including Pop Idol, Good Times, Bad Times, The Price Is Right, Family Feud and The Bill.

RTL originally stood for Radio Télévision Luxembourg or Radio-Télé-Luxembourg.

The RTL Group started in 1931 as CLR or Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion which operated Radio Luxembourg. In 1954 it renamed itself into 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 East German UFA) to create CLT-UFA. In 2000 it merged with Pearson TV and became RTL Group. It is currently majority-owned by Bertelsmann AG.

Among the reasons of RTL Group's success, apart for merits related to the content itself, one can cite the fact that Luxembourg allowed privately owned radio and TV stations long before other European countries did.

Television stations

• Belgium

RTL TVI

Club RTL

Plug TV

• Croatia

RTL Televizija

• France

M6

RTL 9

• Germany

RTL Television

RTL II

VOX

Super RTL

RTL Shop

n-tv

• Hungary

RTL Klub

• Luxembourg

RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg

Den 2. RTL

• Netherlands

RTL 4

Yorin

RTL 5

• Spain

Antena 3

• UK

Five

The money-losing Polish-language RTL 7 satellite television chanel has been sold in December 2001 to TVN owners ITI and became TVN 7.

External links

• http://www.rtlgroup.com/corporate (http://www.rtlgroup.com/corporate/)