Service is everything

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: growth, Mr Ostrowski appears to be far less interested in the internet than other media bosses. Losses made by Mr Middelhoff’s internet ventures may also contribute to his caution. “I will not put a bet on one or two big internet investments; we must build an online presence organically,” he says.

In 2006 the firm set up a digital-media fund of euro50m to take stakes in young internet businesses, and last year it contributed euro500m to a euro 1-billion fund alongside outside investors, which may also invest in new media. Critics say this may be too little, too late. Despite the emphasis on services, RTL is not for sale, so Bertelsmann will still be a media firm. Mr Ostrowski has done an excellent job of finding new sources of growth outside the core business, but now he is going to have to deal with the question that plagues all media bosses: how to make money on the internet.