2. corporate responsibility
  3. Our impact
  4. Society

Society

As a leading media organisation, RTL Group is in prime position to highlight pressing social and environmental issues – which we do through TV and radio reports, magazine programmes, and series, as well as on many digital platforms.

As a global entertainment and information leader across broadcast, content and digital, RTL Group is well positioned to support a wide range of good causes, and to raise money for charities. Moreover, our foundations and activities are often directly involved in the charities’ operations. Our aim is to help raise awareness of important challenges around the world particularly those that might otherwise go unreported or under-funded.

Our responsibilities to society include:

Community investment

With our high profile, we are able to raise funds for, and awareness of, worthy causes, charities and challenges around the world. We are also well positioned to alert the public about pressing social issues – especially those that are otherwise unreported or underfunded.

We see this contribution to society as our duty as good corporate citizens.

Our big events:

• The RTL-Spendenmarathon is one of the programme highlights at the end of each year, with more than 24 hours of special broadcasting, where famous personalities and sponsors raise funds for the foundation ‘RTL – Wir helfen Kindern’ (We Help Children) and the implementation of several projects worldwide. In 2019, the RTL-Spendenmarathon raised over €10 million, and since its first broadcast in 1996, RTL Television viewers and partner companies have donated more than €180 million.

• Télévie was created to raise funds to finance research into cancer and leukaemia, both in children and adults. Télévie has been active in Belgium since 1989 and in Luxembourg since 2002. It finances more than a hundred research projects every year. In 2019, Télévie set a new record of €13,315,462 raised for research; since its establishment, it has collected more than €198 million.

 

Image description: Mission accomplished - over €13 million collected for Télévie in 2019 © Fred Guerdin/RTL Belgium

Diversity

We produce quality content that speaks to all audiences, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability or sexual orientation. We strive to make our content accessible to all, including people with disabilities.

Our channels, such as M6 in France, use the latest technology to make their programmes more accessible for people who are deaf or hearing-impaired, by using subtitles, audio descriptions and programmes with signing.

At RTL Group, our independence means we can uphold strong principles of journalistic balance. Corporate senior management does not interfere with editorial decision-making or the independence of our editorial personnel. As a consequence, our output reflects many opinions, and society’s diversity.

Our Diversity Statement reinforces our commitment to diverse and inclusive programming.

 

Image description: Jury of America's Got Talent © 2017 NBCUniversal Media

Content responsibility

We offer an exciting array of entertainment and information programmes for all audiences. As such, we have a responsibility to protect young viewers from unsuitable content. We also have a duty to protect and respect intellectual property rights, to secure a creative and diverse media landscape. In line with our business model, each profit centre is expected to safeguard its media users and customers.

Similarly, RTL Group expects each of its business units to ensure its news programming abides by the Newsroom Guidelines, and its entertainment programming protects media users and customers, and conforms with applicable child-protection laws. The steps they take to do this differ by country, but typically include a rating to alert parents and educators to programming that is unsuitable for children.

RTL Group complies with all applicable national and EU child-protection laws and regulations. Beyond this, the Group ensures its content is suitable for younger viewers or is broadcast at times when they are unlikely to be watching TV. The Group takes e-safety seriously and works continually to develop solutions to protect children online.

 

Image description: Dutch celebrities read funny, adventurous and educational stories on the RTL Telekids programme BoekenWurm TV

At RTL Group, we care!

Watch the RTL Group Corporate Responsibility trailer which gives you an insight into our focus topics of Editorial Independence, Society and Employees. Because actions speak louder than words. #RTLCares

Documents

RTL Group's Diversity Statement
(pdf, 0.15 Mb)

RTL Group's statement on the 'CEO Coalition to Make the Internet A Better Place for Kids'
(pdf, 0.06 Mb)

RTL Group's brochure Entertainment, Inspire, Educate – RTL Group and Children's TV
(pdf, 1.13 Mb)

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RTL Group – Entertain. Inform. Engage.

RTL Group is a leader across broadcast, content and digital, with interests in 68 television channels, eight streaming platforms and 31 radio stations. RTL Group also produces content throughout the world and owns digital video networks. The television portfolio of Europe’s largest broadcaster includes RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France, the RTL channels in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Croatia, Hungary and Antena 3 in Spain. RTL Group’s families of TV channels are either the number one or number two in eight European countries. The Group’s flagship radio station is RTL in France, and it also owns or has interests in other stations in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg. RTL Group’s content business, Fremantle, is one of the world’s largest creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content. Fremantle has an international network of production teams, companies and labels in over 30 countries, producing over 12,800 hours of original programming and distributing over 20,000 hours of content worldwide. Combining the streaming-services of its broadcasters (such as TV Now, 6play, Videoland), the digital video networks BroadbandTV and Divimove; and Fremantle’s more than 300 YouTube channels, RTL Group has become the leading European media company in digital video. RTL Group also owns the ad-tech businesses Smartclip and SpotX. RTL AdConnect is RTL Group’s international advertising sales house. Bertelsmann is the majority shareholder of RTL Group, which is listed on the Luxembourg and Frankfurt stock exchanges and in the SDAX stock index.

 

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