RTL GROUP PRESS RELEASE
Luxembourg / London / Los Angeles, 19 April 2012 – RTL Group, the leading European entertainment network, today announced the appointment of Cécile Frot-Coutaz as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FremantleMedia, to be based in London, effective 1 July 2012. Cécile Frot-Coutaz, currently CEO of FremantleMedia North America (FMNA), will succeed Tony Cohen who will step down to focus on his non-executive work.
Guillaume de Posch, Co-CEO of RTL Group together with Anke Schäferkordt, says: “After being with the group for 17 years, Cécile has the vision and leadership that are needed to further grow FremantleMedia. She brings expertise and drive from the largest TV market in the world and combines her creative skills as a producer with a sharp business perspective. I am very happy to welcome her at the helm of RTL Group’s production arm.”
De Posch continues: “I want to thank Tony Cohen for his outstanding achievements. He transformed FremantleMedia from a collection of individual entities into a global content power house. Under his leadership, the company has become the pre-eminent producer of the hit prime-time global entertainment formats in dozens of countries, a top distributor and brand licensor, and a rapidly growing force in online and mobile gaming, branded entertainment and kids. I wish him all the best for the future.”
Tony Cohen says: “FremantleMedia’s extraordinary creative and commercial achievements this last decade have been due to the talent and skill of its leadership team and staff, to our great partnerships with major talent and to our shareholder’s unwavering support. I am grateful to them all and to have been part of the company’s amazing journey.”
As the CEO of FremantleMedia North America, Cécile Frot-Coutaz currently oversees the development, production and business operations of over 600 hours of network, cable and syndicated programming. Under her guidance, FMNA currently produces some of the most innovative and successful event entertainment on television, including the multiple Emmy-nominated musical/reality show American Idol on the Fox network. Other titles produced by FMNA are The X Factor (Fox), America’s Got Talent (NBC), Family Feud (syndicated), The Price Is Right (CBS), and the scripted series The Wedding Band (TBS).
Born and raised in France, Frot-Coutaz earned her MBA from the prestigious Insead business school in 1994. When Pearson purchased the assets of Grundy Television, Frot-Coutaz was named Corporate Strategy Executive for the newly created Pearson TV. She then spearheaded the subsequent acquisition and integration of All-American Fremantle into the Pearson Television Group. After a short stint in San Francisco creating online and interactive strategies for Pearson Television, Frot-Coutaz joined the North American headquarters of the newly rebranded FremantleMedia in Los Angeles, where she served as Executive Vice President, Commercial and Operations until her promotion to COO of Production in 2002, and CEO in 2005. Her successor will be named in due course.
For further information please contact:
Media
Oliver Herrgesell
Corporate Communications
Phone: +352/2486 5200
oliver.herrgesell@rtlgroup.com
Investor Relations
Andrew Buckhurst
Investor Relations
Phone: +352/2486 5074
andrew.buckhurst@rtlgroup.com
About RTL Group
RTL Group is the leading European entertainment network, with interests in 46 television channels and 29 radio stations in nine countries and content production throughout the world. 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 – the company also has interests in National Media Group in Russia. RTL Group’s flagship radio station is RTL in France, and it also owns or has interests in other stations in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Luxembourg. RTL Group’s content production arm, FremantleMedia, is one of the largest international producers outside the US. Each year, it produces 9,200 hours of programming across 58 countries.