RTL Deutschland Appoints Stephan Schmitter as CEO Effective January 1st

Stephan Schmitter is set to assume the role of CEO of RTL Deutschland on January 1, 2024, while retaining his position as Chief Content Officer. This transition follows former CEO Stephan Schafer’s departure after a brief 12-month tenure. He succeeds interim CEO Thomas Rabe, who took charge following Schafer’s exit. Additionally, Schmitter will take on the responsibilities of overseeing the streaming service RTL+ and the restructured publishing business Gruner + Jahr (G+J).

Schmitter’s journey within RTL Group began in May 2004 when he joined as the Managing Director of the Berlin-based radio station 105’5 Spreeradio. Over time, he progressed to become the CEO of RTL Radio Deutschland. His roles included serving as the Managing Director of RTL News in February 2021 and assuming the position of Chief Journalistic Content Officer at RTL Deutschland in January 2022. He was later appointed to the Management Board of RTL Deutschland in November 2022.

Expressing his anticipation, Schmitter stated, “I am looking forward to taking on this new entrepreneurial challenge and would like to thank Thomas Rabe and RTL Group’s Executive Committee for their trust. I am convinced we have everything we need to continue shaping the transformation of our business with great speed and from a position of strength. Our goal is to have leading brands in all genres that move and inspire our audiences in Germany, alongside outstanding colleagues full of creative power.”

Rabe commented on Schmitter’s impact, stating, “Stephan Schmitter lives and embodies RTL. He is an entrepreneur with an extraordinary flair for content and a collaborative management style. As Chief Content Officer and member of the Management Board, he has set the course for the future in a short amount of time. This year, RTL was the only main channel in Germany to increase its audience share in the key target group. Vox became the second most popular commercial channel, and our family of channels significantly expanded its market leadership. At the same time, we continued the growth trajectory of our streaming service RTL+, which currently has around 4.7 million subscribers.”

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