Schmitter joins RTL Deutschland board with combined brands and content remit

Stephan Schmitter

Stephan Schmitter, currently chief journalistic content officer at RTL Deutschland, has been appointed to the Management Board of RTL Deutschland. As managing director of programming, he will take on responsibility for all content (entertainment, journalistic content, fiction, sports, RTL Studios productions) and brands from RTL Deutschland.

RTL said that by bundling content and brands, “the company will optimise the cross-media playout of content across all channels – TV, streaming, radio, print, online and social media – and promote the interaction of brands such as RTL, Vox, NTV, Stern and Geo”. Brand & Marketing will also move into Schmitter’s area of responsibility.

In related news, Andreas Fischer, chief operating officer at RTL Deutschland, is responsible for commercial processes in the content area – such as the purchase of third-party programmes, formats and sports licenses, alongside the area of copyright affairs and music publishing – with immediate effect. Henning Tewes, currently chief content officer at RTL Deutschland, will leave RTL Deutschland to take on new management responsibilities at RTL Group, which will be announced in due course.

Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group and chairman of the management board of RTL Deutschland, said: “Stephan Schmitter is a great addition to the management board of RTL Deutschland. For more than 18 years, he 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 realise the synergies from the combination with Gruner + Jahr.”