Mr Didier Bellens is standing on board the Pearson Television yacht in sun-drenched Cannes. The boat is halfway along the harbour and is easily identified because it is the biggest. Mr Bellens, chief executive of Europe's largest commercial television and radio group RTL, has jetted in for a conference from shareholder meetings in the US.

Looking every inch the Euro-businessman in blue polo shirt and tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses, he is preparing to give an address to the conference that afternoon and is fretting over whether he should wear a tie.

The previous evening he had been at a party, catching up with staff normally scattered across Europe but gathered in Cannes for the biannual television marketplace gathering, MIP. It is a useful opportunity. RTL, listed in Brussels and London, has 22 free-to-air TV stations including the largest in Germany, M6 in France and the majority of Channel 5 in the UK.

It also owns or has controlling stakes in 18 radio stations, including the biggest in France, and Atlantic 252 in this country.

Its programming business, Pearson Television, makes shows ranging from Neighbours to The Bill, and has operations from Melbourne to Los Angeles. Mr Bellens is based in Luxembourg, has an office in London and his family home in Brussels.

It is exactly a year since RTL was formed through the merger of Pearson Television, CLTUFA and Audiofina, propelling him to the top ranks of the new breed of European media figures challenging the US.

The deal that created RTL was initially greeted with enthusiasm by investors, but some of the excitement has waned. Advertising revenues are slowing, particularly in Germany, which is RTL's biggest market, and question marks hang over the rationale of owning a network of broadcasters across different countries.

The company has also faced some specific problems, including the flattening out of audience share at Channel 5 and a sharp fall in its largest radio business in France. Some investors have also expressed frustration at the lack of shares available on the market, which means they are rarely traded.

The company has said it will increase the free float from 11 per cent to 15 per cent, allowing it a berth in the FTSE 100 by September. Shares in the company have fallen significantly in value.

Sitting down for lunch, Mr Bellens prepares to address the criticisms. He rests his elbows on the table, makes liberal use of his hands to express a point and regularly flattens his fringe to one side. His English is good, but with a thick French accent, and he has a habit of breaking everything down into at least three points.

First. Advertising revenues will come back, he says, and when they do, RTL is well-positioned. This isn't the first time that advertising has slowed, nor will it be the last. What is important is that RTL is the largest, so advertisers who want a mass market must come to RTL.

Second. The stalling of growth of Channel 5 is put down to a stand-off between RTL and a minority shareholder, Lord Hollick's United Business Media. United, which had been hoping to sell its stake, refused to ratify any increase in the channel's £120 million sterling (€193 million) programming budget, a conflict that ended up in court at the end of last year. RTL won the argument and freed up another £20 million or so.

Lord Hollick has now stated that instead of being a seller he wants to remain a shareholder, says Mr Bellens. "So he was a short-term shareholder wanting to sell and he was blocking investment. Fine. Now he is a longer-term shareholder. He has to have the same view as ours, which is the development of value for all the shareholders by investing."

Third. The executive running the French radio business has been sacked and listenership, which had sunk from 17 per cent of the market to 13.6 per cent, has begun to climb again. The former boss had made the error of telling his audience that he wanted to replace them with a younger market.

For Mr Bellens, the fundamental issue, and the one he has been addressing with US investors in recent weeks, is that of establishing the advantages of building a pan-European broadcasting group. He uses the example of a home-shopping channel in Germany, set up through a joint venture with M6, which already runs a similar business in France and has lent its expertise.

The new-media arm of RTL is providing interactivity and Bertelsmann - which owns 67 per cent of RTL, and has extensive interests in music and book publishing and online retailing - is providing infrastructure.

Another example he cites is the highest ratings ever secured by Channel 5 for the football match between England and Albania, shown two weeks ago. Channel 5 had access to the game through another part of the group, UFA Sport. Its access to sports rights will get better if talks with Vivendi's Canal Plus to combine their sports rights businesses are finalised. Discussions, he says, are going well.

Extra cash is being ploughed into Pearson TV, which he hopes will work with outfits such as Channel 5 to develop new formats. Successful programmes and formats are being rolled out across the network of stations including Greed, a game show coming to Channel 5 that will be hosted by Mr Jerry Springer. Another new format is Pop Idol, the follow-up to Popstars but searching for a solo star.

Acquisitions on the way are likely to be in small to medium sized production companies.

"Our first objectives are to invest in the real business, more in programming on Channel 5, for instance. We may have soccer games and feature films, but we have to develop drama and UK-based programming that keep the audiences. We are not going to make a big corporate move, although I know that's what everyone likes.

"We have to invest in the real business. Then we intend to keep on buying out minority interests in our companies."

The US, which had been defined as a priority for investment when the group was formed, has been taken off the agenda. RTL has also withdrawn from the market for one-hour drama series produced in the US, of which Baywatch was the flagship.

The yacht, Mr Bellens notes, is the reverse of profligacy. It is cheaper to hire a boat for MIP than it is to take exhibition space and hotels for staff. Much to the irritation of the conference organisers, the harbour is lined with yachts hired by companies for the week.

The trip to the US, he says, was the usual round of back-to-back meetings.