European broadcasting giant RTL Group has unveiled a new German management team for RTL Deutschland, days after gaining regulatory approval for its takeover of pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland.
The team will comprise executives from both RTL and Sky, with the RTL Deutschland CEO Stephan Schmitter taking over the merged business as Chief Executive.
From Sky Deutschland, Elke Walthelm will join RTL Deutschland’s management board as Chief Human Resources Officer, and Michael Radelsberger will join as Chief Consumer Officer.
Julia Kloke is moving from Bertelsmann subsidiary Riverty to RTL Deutschland as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Ingrid Heisserer, currently CFO of RTL Deutschland, and Carsten Schwecke, currently Chief Commercial, Tech and Data Officer of RTL Deutschland, will leave the company.
Frank Vogel, Managing Director of RTL Deutschland’s advertising sales house Ad Alliance, will report directly to CEO Stephan Schmitter.
Several RTL Deutschland executives will remain on the management board, including: Chief Operating Officer (COO) Andreas Fischer; Chief Content Officer Inga Leschek; and Chief Transformation and AI Officer Max Orgonyi.
The European Commission approved RTL Deutschland’s €150m acquisition of Sky Deutschland from Comcast last week. The transaction combines Sky Deutschland’s premium sports rights – including Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Premier League, and Formula 1 – with RTL’s entertainment and news brands across RTL+, free-to-air, and pay TV. It also unites two streamers in the German market: RTL+ and WOW.
Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, said: “The combination of RTL and Sky creates a unique offering for entertainment, sport, and news across free-to-air TV, pay-TV, and streaming. We will gradually combine Sky and RTL and realise annual synergies of around €250m within three years. Our aim is to bring together the best talent, content, and processes from both companies.”
Schmitter added: “The composition of the new management board underlines our clear focus on consistently aligning the joint organisation with the future of television – particularly the streaming business.
HBO Max recently signed a distribution deal with leading German streamer RTL+ ahead of its launch in Germany on January 13. Discover more here.
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