“
Everybody
is trying to
reach the
decision-
makers
but we are
open for
everyone
”
34
|
ISSUE 2 2015
|
THE CHANNEL
e’ve not only
re-launched
DW TV into
DW, we’ve also
launched a new
app. The new
TV offering is
much more focused on news and
information. When we saw that we
were lagging behind our competitors
we thought we ought to have the
same level playing field where we
can show what kind of journalistic
offers we have. And we want to
integrate the digital world much
more into the linear TV station.
So what’s your USP compared to
the main competition?
I think the USP is that it’s all
coming from Germany. If you want
to know something about Germany,
come to us. We’re the original. We
can tell you about Germany and
about how Germany thinks about
international or regional issues.
Who will your audience be?
To a certain extent audiences of
international broadcasters are the
same. Our audience consists of
people who are interested in other
parts of the world, who are inter-
ested in politics, in democracy and
in the way Europe and Germany
thinks.
Everybody is trying to reach the
decision makers, but we are open
for everyone. For example, we want
to help young students who maybe
have to struggle in their countries
because they don’t have enough
freedom. I think you have to focus on
a certain target group, but we will
have to be interesting and accessible
for a wide spectrum of society.
Who is your competition?
Obviously we count among our
competitors the BBC or France 24
and the Voice of America – these
are all broadcasters who give a
different perspective on the world
but share the same values. But I
think the main competitors come
from countries which are much
more autocratic – so CCTV or RT
are our competitors and we would
like to come up with a journalistic
offering which is good enough to
compete with them. And yes, we
are kind of optimistic because we
see already that what we can offer
is quite good and can compete.
You mentioned the new app. How
does the world’s move to digital
affect the strategy of DW?
The app and social media must
always come first. Digital and social
media are the future. But you have
to plan the digital offers. You can
use the same material which you
produce for the linear TV also in
the app, but then you have to
change the thing that you’re doing
with linear TV because consuming
an app is a totally different
experience. So you have to find the
right balance between not doing
everything twice and also being
specific for each medium. That’s a
daily challenge.
Is Germany outpacing other countries
in the way that people accept apps
and non-linear TV?
I think that if you look at Europe,
Germany is quite advanced
digitally, but we have to look
beyond the German market – to the
African, Asian, South American
markets. The Asian market for
example is much more advanced.
Linear TV, HD, video on demand,
OTT – everything is already there.
We have to be prepared for that. In
Africa you have other issues. They
are getting quite effective in the
mobile space, and so you have to
plan for every region the right
answer.
So is there still potential to grow?
Yes, there is potential for growth in
this business. One part of what we
are doing is to take market share
from the competition, the other part
Since Peter Limbourg joined Deutsche Welle from commercial station
ProSiebenSat.1 TV in 2013, he has managed immense change across
Germany’s international broadcaster. on taking up his post as DG Limbourg
immediately formulated a new strategic plan to 2017 and now, he says, the
projects that had been talked about for years are finally becoming reality. In
June this year, DW launched its new global English-language TV news and
information channel – so what’s the thinking behind it?
GOINGAFTER
MARKET SHARE
W
THE CHANNEL
|
GLoBAL CHANNELS
