View source for RTL (French radio)

{{other uses|RTL (disambiguation){{!}}RTL|Radio Luxembourg (disambiguation){{!}}Radio Luxemburg}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = RTL
| logo = RTL logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| city = [[Paris]]
| country = [[France]]
| area = [[France]]<br />[[Luxembourg]]<br />[[Belgium]]<br/>Elsewhere in Europe and North Africa (on LW and Satellite)
| frequency = '''[[Frequency modulation|FM]]''':<br />104.3&nbsp;[[MHz]] ([[Paris]])<br/> 101.4&nbsp;[[MHz]] ([[Marseille]]) <br/> 105.0&nbsp;[[MHz]] ([[Lyon]]) <br />  [https://www.rtl.fr/frequences Full list of frequencies on FM in other areas]
| airdate = {{Start date|1933|03|15|df=y}}
| format = [[News program|News]], [[Talk radio|Talk]]
| language = [[French language|French]]
| former_callsigns = Radio Luxembourg (1933–1966)
| former_frequencies = 236 kHz<!-- use – --><br>234 kHz (until 2023)
| owner = [[Groupe M6]] ([[RTL Group]])
| sister_stations = [[RTL2 (France)|RTL2]]<br />[[Fun Radio (France)|Fun Radio]]
| website = {{URL|rtl.fr}}
}}
'''RTL''' is a French commercial radio network owned by the [[RTL Group]] through [[Groupe M6]]. Founded in 1933 as Radio Luxembourg, it broadcast from outside of France until 1981 because only public stations had been allowed until then. It is a general-interest, news, talk and music station, broadcasting nationally ("[[radio in France|category E]]" as classified by the [[Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel|CSA]]) in France, [[French Community of Belgium|Francophone Belgium]], and Luxembourg. Until 2022, RTL was also broadcast on [[long wave]] frequency 234 kHz from [[Beidweiler Longwave Transmitter|Beidweiler]] which could be picked up in large parts of the continent. It has a sister station called [[Bel RTL]] tailored for the [[French Community of Belgium]]. As of 2018, RTL is France's most popular radio station with an average of 6.4 million daily listeners that year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rtl-adconnect.com/news/rtl-radio-historic-finale-results-in-strong-year/ |title = RTL Radio: Historic Finale Results In Strong Year - RTL AdConnect| date=22 January 2019 }}</ref>

==History==

===Radio Luxembourg===
[[File:EU location LUX.png|thumb|300px|right|Location of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (circled), illustrating its proximity to other countries.]]
On 19 December 1929 the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg established a [[state monopoly]] on broadcasting, but the law provided for possible concessions to private companies who wanted to use [[Bandwidth (signal processing)|radio bandwidth]], with the state charging a fixed amount for private use of radio.

The ''Société Luxembourgeoise d'Études Radiophoniques'' (SLER) was founded on 11 May 1929 with the aim of obtaining an eventual broadcasting contract from the Luxembourg government. This company was run by Luxembourger François Anen, French publisher Henry Etienne, and French engineer Jean le Duc representing the ''Compagnie des Compteurs de Montrouge'', which possessed 84% of the project's capital and had signed a secret agreement to work with the group CSF, the main stockholder in [[Radio Paris]]. Radio Paris wanted to set up a powerful peripheral radio station in Luxembourg, outside of the strict French regulations that only allowed public stations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://100ansderadio.free.fr/HistoiredelaRadio/Radio-Luxembourg/RadioLuxembourg-1929.html|title=100 ans de Radio - Radio Luxembourg - année 1929|website=100ansderadio.free.fr}}</ref> A 25-year agreement between the SLER and the Luxembourg government signed on 29 September 1930 ensured the Luxembourg government a fee of 30% on future profits of the station. The agreement also set up a committee for programming and a technical committee which allowed the government to regulate the private station.

The [[RTL Group|Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion]] (CLR) was founded on 30 May 1931, officially replacing the SLER.

On 14 January 1933, experimental broadcasts by Radio Luxembourg began at 1191 metres (200&nbsp;kW), an unauthorized wavelength, from the [[longwave]] transmitter at [[Junglinster]]. The official opening of broadcast was on 15 March 1933 at 19:00 with a pre-recorded concert of [[light music]]. Radio Luxembourg broadcast each evening from 19:00 to 23:00, in [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and was therefore the only French-language private broadcaster available in France and Belgium. Programmes in [[English language|English]] débuted on 3 December 1933 under the editorial guidance of [[Stephen Williams (Radio Luxembourg)|Stephen Williams]].

The station closed down at the outbreak of [[World War II]] in 1939, but it resumed service after the War.

Beginning in 1946, it could be heard easily in France. Until the 1980s, only the French public radio networks could transmit from France itself. Radio Luxembourg was one of private [[Peripheral radio|"peripheral" networks]] transmitting from abroad.

Radio Luxembourg quickly gained a large audience in France. In the 1960s, it was faced with the success of another peripheral network from Germany, [[Europe 1]], which adopted a modern tone and attracted a young audience.

===RTL===
[[File:RTL Paris.JPG|thumb|RTL's former headquarters at 22 Rue Bayard in Paris]]
[[File:Beidweiler RTL.jpg|thumb|The [[Beidweiler Longwave Transmitter|Beidweiler (Luxembourg) Longwave Transmitter]] is the high-power broadcasting transmitter for RTL on the longwave frequency 234&nbsp;kHz]]
Radio Luxembourg's changing environment led to the station being renamed "RTL" on 11 October 1966, less obviously mentioning its connection with Luxembourg (the acronym being short for ''Radio Télévision Luxembourg'').

During the [[May 1968 in France|May 1968]] civil unrest and protests by workers and students, the French public radio networks were on strike and TV was not independent from the government. RTL and Europe 1 were the main ways of obtaining independent information for the French people. They were nicknamed "barricades radio".

Unlike the British government's treatment of the [[Radio Luxembourg (English)|Luxembourg English service]], which was never allowed to have a landline from London, the French service has long had its main studios in Paris, with a landline from there to the transmitter. Consequently, it appears to the listener as simply a big French national radio station, as the Luxembourg connection is downplayed.

In 1981, under president [[François Mitterrand]], privately run radio stations were allowed to broadcast in France. RTL, now broadcasting in France mostly at 104.3&nbsp;MHz, was the radio network with the most listeners from 1981 to 2002.

Whereas Luxembourg's English service was always centred on light entertainment and popular music, RTL France is a mixed station. About 50% of its broadcast is information and talk focusing on news and current affairs with a large team of respected journalists.

Radio Luxembourg's two main national competitors are [[Europe 1]] (another out-of-country commercial station, broadcasting from Saarland, again with Paris studios) and the state-owned [[France Inter]]. All three stations used to have very high-powered transmitters occupying long-wave frequencies that date back many decades.

The French service has called itself RTL for many years. It broadcasts through a network of FM transmitters throughout France, as well as the internet, cable and satellite. 

In 1991 a separate RTL Belgian service in French, called [[Bel-RTL]], was established. Intended for the French-speaking part of Belgium with studios in Brussels, this station is licensed (along with many competing commercial stations) by the Belgian Government  with a network of FM transmitters covering Brussels and [[Wallonia]].  It has no particular connection with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg other than its ownership by the RTL parent company.

{{Asof|alt=The end of 2021|2022|01}}, RTL was the second-most listened to channel in France, behind [[France Inter]], according to the [[Médiamétrie]] Étude Audience Radio survey. In the November–December 2021 survey period, RTL had about 6 million daily listeners.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ubertalli |first=Olivier |date=2022-01-13 |title=Audiences radio : France Inter et RTL en forme, Europe 1 dans le dur |language=fr |trans-title=Radio audiences: France Inter and RTL in good shape, Europe 1 in hard shape |work=Le Point |url=https://www.lepoint.fr/medias/audiences-radio-france-inter-et-rtl-en-forme-europe-1-dans-le-dur-13-01-2022-2460305_260.php |access-date=2022-10-25}}</ref>

In October 2022, RTL announced it would end its longwave broadcasts on January 1, 2023, in an effort to reduce the company's energy use.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-10-16 |title=RTL n'émettra plus sur les grandes ondes en 2023 |language=fr |trans-title=RTL will no longer broadcast on longwave in 2023 |work=Le Figaro |agency=AFP |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/rtl-n-emettra-plus-sur-les-grandes-ondes-en-2023-20221016 |access-date=2022-10-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ross |first=T. Carter |date=2022-10-25 |title=RTL Plans 234 kHz Exit for Year-End |language=en-US |work=[[Radio World]] |url=https://www.radioworld.com/global/rtl-plans-234-khz-exit-for-year-end |access-date=2022-10-25}}</ref>

RTL's long-wave broadcasts on 234 kHz were discontinued on January 2, 2023, at midnight UTC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mediumwave.info/2023/01/|title=January 2023|date=January 31, 2023|website=Ydun's Medium Wave Info}}</ref>

==Programming==
RTL features a popular daily talk show named ''[[Les Grosses Têtes]]'', which has been broadcast since 1977. Other past or current programmes on RTL include:

* ''[[RTL Matin]]'', the morning news session
* ''Ça peut vous arriver''
* ''La Tête dans les étoiles'', game with a star
* ''RTL Soir'', the evening news
* ''Les Nocturnes'', night-time broadcast on US music
* ''Stop ou Encore'', a musical broadcast
* ''[[Le Journal Inattendu]]'' (the Unexpected News Bulletin), which consists of a news bulletin followed by a magazine conceived by a guest;  was created in 1967;  current anchor since 2011 is [[Marie Drucker]]
* ''[[Le Grand Jury]]'', a political broadcast
* ''Malice'', a cultural game
* ''Hit Parade'', a musical chart
* ''La Valise RTL'', a game

=== Station slogans ===
* 1977–1979: « ''RTL, c'est vous'' »
* 1990–{{when|date=February 2013}}: « ''Les infos, c'est comme le café, c'est bon quand c'est chaud et quand c'est fort'' »
* 1991–{{when|date=February 2013}}: « ''RTL, L'information en capitales'' »
* 1990s–{{when|date=February 2013}}: « ''RTL, La vie en trois lettres'' »
* 1996–{{when|date=February 2013}}: « ''RTL, Essentiel'' »
* 2001–2005: « ''RTL, Vivre ensemble'' »
* 2006–2007: « ''RTL, c'est vous'' »
* 2007–2008: « ''Le plus RTL'' »
* 2008–2009: « ''100 % RTL » ; « RTL, c'est vous'' »
* 2009–2011: « ''RTL, première radio de France'' »
* 2011–{{when|date=February 2013}}: « ''Qui vous connait mieux que RTL ?'' »
* Since 2012: « ''RTL, toujours avec vous'' »
* Since 2014 : « ''RTL Première radio de France'' »

==Administration==
List of RTL/Radio Luxembourg presidents:
* 1933–1953: [[Jacques Lacour-Gayet]]
* 1965–1975: [[Jean Prouvost]]
* 1975–1979: [[Christian Chavanon]]
* 1979–2000: [[Jacques Rigaud]]
* 2000–2005: [[Rémy Sautter]]
* 2005–2009: [[Axel Duroux]]
* Since 2009: [[Christopher Baldelli]]

List of director-generals/heads of programming:
* 1933–1934: [[Jehan Martin]]
* 1934–{{when|date=February 2013}}: [[René-Louis Peulvey]]
* 1966–1978: [[Jean Farran]]
* 1978–1985: [[Raymond Castans]]
* 1985–2000: [[Philippe Labro]]
* 2000–{{when|date=February 2013}}: [[Stéphane Duhamel]]
* 2001–2005: [[Robin Leproux]]
* 2005–2006: [[Axel Duroux]]
* 2006–2010: [[Frédéric Jouve]]
** 2007–2008: Deputy head of programming: [[Jean-Marc Dorangeon]]
* 2010–2012: [[Yves Bigot]]
* 2012–2018: [[Jacques Expert]]
* Since 2017: [[Gauthier Hourcade]]
* Since 2017: [[Ghislain Thomas]]
List of ''directeurs de l'antenne'':
* 2005–2006: [[Jean-François Latour]]
* Since 2006: [[Jean-Yves Hautemulle]]

==See also==
*[[RTL Group]]
*[[Jacques Danois]], RTL reporter

==External links==
{{Commons category|RTL (radio française)}}
*{{Official website|http://www.rtl.fr/}} {{in lang|fr}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Radio stations in France}}
{{RTL Group}}
{{Bertelsmann}}

{{coord missing|France}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rtl (French Radio)}}
[[Category:Radio stations in Luxembourg]]
[[Category:French-language radio stations]]
[[Category:International broadcasters]]
[[Category:Mass media companies of Luxembourg]]
[[Category:RTL Group]]
[[Category:1933 establishments in Luxembourg]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1933]]
[[Category:Longwave radio stations]]
[[Category:News and talk radio stations in France]]