Management Changes at RTL Deutschland

Stephan Schmitter has been named to the management board at RTL Deutschland, taking on the post of managing director of programming.

Schmitter is currently chief journalistic content officer at RTL Deutschland. With his new appointment, he takes on responsibility for all content—entertainment, news, fiction, sports and RTL Studios productions—and brands from RTL Deutschland, including RTL, Vox, NTV, Stern and Geo. His remit will also include RTL Deutschland’s branding and marketing department.

Andreas Fischer, COO at RTL Deutschland, is responsible for commercial processes in the content area, including content acquisitions, formats and sports. Henning Tewes, COO, is moving on to new management responsibilities at RTL Group, to be announced at a later date.

Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group and chairman of the management board of RTL Deutschland, noted, “For more than 18 years, [Stephan] has demonstrated a flair for programming, journalism and marketing in numerous management positions across RTL—and has shown that he leads creative teams in a collaborative manner. With his responsibility for all content, we are creating the foundation to further increase our audience shares in the German TV market, to continue the growth of our streaming service RTL+ and to realize the synergies from the combination with Gruner + Jahr. I look forward to our continued cooperation and wish him every success in his new role.”

Rabe added, “On behalf of RTL, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Henning Tewes for his achievements and great commitment. Both internationally and in Germany, he has shaped RTL’s programming and developed new business models. He has led our German flagship channel RTL Television, as well as our other channels, with passion and determination. Furthermore, over the past three years, he has also significantly expanded and diversified the program lineup of RTL+ with numerous originals across all genres—thus strengthening RTL Deutschland’s position in the creative market.”