RTL Television and Warner Bros. International Television Distribution Enter into a New, Multiyear Volume Deal to Make RTL the Broadcast Home for the Studio’s Feature Films and Television Series in Germany

COLOGNE, Germany, and BURBANK, Calif. – RTL Television and Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) have signed a new, multiyear volume deal agreement which will make RTL the new broadcast home for all of WBITD’s programming in Germany, including more than 200 theatrical motion pictures and television series. The announcement was made today by Dirk Schweitzer, Executive Vice President for Program Acquisitions & Sales, RTL, and Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. International Television.

Under terms of the agreement, RTL has obtained the German broadcasting rights to a slate of first-run feature films commencing with titles released theatrically in the U.S. in 2010, along with a number of library motion pictures, as well as new television series starting with the 2010–2011 U.S. television season.

Dirk Schweitzer said, “We are extremely happy to acquire this package from WBITD, which is also one of the most attractive deals available to the German market in recent years. This acquisition continues to boost RTL’s level of proficiency in cinema and TV series.”

Jeffrey Schlesinger said, “We are pleased to have entered into this new agreement which will bring all of our new movies and television series to RTL beginning next year. We look forward to working closely with RTL to make this programming a hit with German viewers for years to come.”

Movies licensed by RTL under the new deal include numerous free-TV premieres, highlighted by the final two installments of the Harry Potter film franchise: the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Additional previously released motion pictures included in the pact are, among others, the three films in the Peter Jackson–directed Lord of the Rings trilogy – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and concluding chapter The Return of the King, which won 11 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture – as well as Ocean’s Eleven, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts; Rush Hour 2, directed by Brett Ratner and starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker; and Blade II, directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Wesley Snipes.

About RTL Television
RTL Television is Germany’s most successful private broadcasting station. Among younger viewers (14-49 year-olds) RTL has been the undisputed number one without interruption for over 16 years. This station features highlights from all of the various genres in its program, including shows like “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” (Pop Idol), real life formats like “Bauer sucht Frau” (Farmer Seeks Wife), series, cinema hits and news as well as sporting events like Formula 1 racing. RTL Television focuses on classical distribution channels as well as new media and technologies. Consequently, RTL Television’s program brands have a strong presence on every platform. The station is owned by the Media Group RTL Germany, one of the leading media companies in Germany.

About Warner Bros. International Television Distribution
Warner Bros. International Television Distribution is one of the world’s largest distributors of feature films, television programs and animation to the international television marketplace (broadcast, pay cable, basic cable, satellite, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, digital platforms, etc.). It licenses some 50,000 hours of programming (including more than 6,000 ýfeatures and 70+ current series), dubbed or subtitled in more than 40 ýlanguages, to telecasters and cablecasters in more than 175 countries.