CLT-UFA, the leading European broadcasting enterprise has created a new division „Internet and New Technologies“ as of April 1, 2000. It will be headed by Johannes Züll, 35, who was appointed Senior Vice President and deputy Member of the Board.
Today, CLT-UFA reaches more than 120 million households daily all over Europe. These assets put CLT-UFA in prime position to build an own Internet business. Furthermore, CLT-UFA is the only European TV and Radio broadcaster to represent a most interesting partner for future Internet start-ups as well as for US online companies wanting to roll out their activities to Europe.
CLT-UFA has followed the development of the Internet businesses/new technologies and has been building up together with its affiliates a consistent Internet strategy. The creation of a new division is the organizational consequence of this strategy and shows clearly the importance given to the new businesses by CLT-UFA.
Today, many of the group’s affiliates assume leading positions in many fields of the new business. The main profit centers RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France and the French RTL Radio Group are among the top players in their respective market segments. In line with CLT-UFA’s strategy, all subsidiaries have created, respectively will create their own Internet businesses, such as RTL New Media AG by RTL Television.
For all its major markets, CLT-UFA has been launching major entertainment portals with the short-term objective to become one of the leading general interest site in Europe by the end of the year.
At the same time, CLT-UFA affiliates are beginning to take equity stakes in promising start-up companies. Today, CLT-UFA indirectly holds stakes in the growing fields of online auctioning, power shopping, and ticketing. RTL holds a 33 percent interest in the auctioning house Andsold.de and a 42% percent stake in Powershopping.de, Channel 5 participates in Produxion.com, a TV-production B2B-site, with 20%, and M6 holds a 33% stake in the leading French ticketing service ticketnet.fr. Both on holding and profit center level, CLT-UFA will take further equity participations against cash or promotion deals.
Within the field of online sales and marketing, CLT-UFA, together with the local affiliates of the leading TV sales agency IP, is among the top players in Europe. In 8 European countries, IP markets almost 2000 Web Sites with a total volume of more than 150 million page impressions per month. An integration of the local webvertising companies is planned to take place within the upcoming months.
CLT-UFA is the number 1 in European broadcasting, with shareholdings in 40 radio and television stations, most of which are market leaders (RTL Television in Germany, RTL Radio in France, HMG in the Netherlands). CLT-UFA also holds interests in numerous production and broadcasting rights distribution companies (including UFA Film and TV Productions in Germany and UFA Sports in Europe). In Germany's commercial TV market, CLT-UFA is majority owner of market leader RTL, holding a 35.9% stake in RTL II and 50% in Super RTL.