Stephan Schmitter to Lead RTL Deutschland

Stephan Schmitter, the chief content officer at RTL Group, is set to take over leadership of RTL Deutschland at the beginning of 2024.

Schmitter becomes CEO of RTL Deutschland on January 1, 2024, adding to his remit the streaming service RTL+ and the reorganized publishing business Gruner + Jahr (G+J). Rounding out the management team of RTL Deutschland are Matthias Dang as chief commercial, technology and data officer; COO Andreas Fischer; and Ingrid Heisserer as CFO and chief human resources officer.

Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group and chairman of the management board of RTL Deutschland, noted: “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. I am very much looking forward to continuing to work with Stephan Schmitter and I wish him every success in his new role.”

Schmitter added: “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. And I believe we have the courage to take decisive action in an intensely competitive environment. Over the past few months, the Management Board has developed a clear strategy for this, which we will implement with all our strength and passion.”