French commercial radio station RTL celebrated its 60th anniversary with 60 hours of special programming, live broadcasts, returning formats and archive material from noon Oct. 8 until the start of Oct. 11. The event also extended to podcasts, the RTL app and social media.
The anniversary marked six decades since Radio Luxembourg became RTL on Oct. 11, 1966. On that occasion, RTL’s first director, Jean Farran, declared, “We’re going to do live broadcasting … and radio that can be seen.”
The special schedule began at 11:59 a.m. Oct. 8 with Alex Vizorek presenting “Quitte ou double.” It continued with programs inviting listeners to share their memories, editions of “L’Heure du crime,” “Entrez dans l’histoire” and “Les Grosses Têtes,” and an anniversary evening combining storytelling and live music.
Francis Cabrel, Benjamin Biolay, Marine, Louane, Marc Lavoine, Julien Clerc, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon were among the artists featured during the opening night. Laurent Marsick then presented a night of archive recordings drawn from RTL’s six decades on air.
Hourly time signal
The Oct. 9 schedule brought back “La Bonne Touche” with Jean-Pierre Foucault and Cyril Hanouna, while other programs originated from Nancy. Georges Lang presented three hours of music from around the world in “W RTL,” followed by another overnight selection from the archives. Throughout the anniversary broadcast, RTL aired a significant archive recording every hour, while brass bands from across France performed the station’s hourly time signal.
Programming on Oct. 10 revisited consumer issues and purchasing power in 1966 and included tributes to former RTL presenter and executive Philippe Labro. The station also revived “Les routiers sont sympa,” the long-running program created by Max Meynier, with a live contribution from the L’Escale truck stop in Châteauroux and music selected to reflect RTL’s 60-year history.
RTL extended the anniversary into on-demand audio by republishing archive series including “40 ans ensemble,” “Mon RTL à moi,” material from RTL Cinéma and “Le Journal inattendu,” and Jean Yanne’s “100 ans de connerie.” New podcast programming included a seven-part series examining how RTL accompanied changes in French society, three episodes about radio and television presenter Fabrice and a 23-part history of the station.
The two overnight archive programs presented by Marsick were also released as podcasts. RTL made the anniversary broadcasts and podcasts available through RTL.fr, its mobile app and partner platforms, while its social media channels carried memories from personalities associated with the station.
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