RTL Group names WBD exec as chief exec

Thomas Rabe, chief exec at European media giant and Fremantle owner RTL Group, is to step down and be replaced by Warner Bros Discovery exec amid a broader management overhaul.

Rabe will exit in May 2026 and be replaced by Clément Schwebig, who is currently president and managing director of WBD in Western Europe and Africa.

Elmar Heggen will also step down as RTL Group’s deputy chief exec and chief operating oifficer (COO) by the end of 2025, although a replacement is yet to be named.

Björn Bauer will continue as chief financial officer at RTL Group, which operates broadcasters including M6 in France and RTL Deutschland and six streaming services including RTL+ in Europe, as well as production unit Fremantle and publishing arm Bertelsmann.

RTL said the new leadership team would take the group “into the next phase of its development”, with Schwebig also expected to join the board as executive director.

Schwebig began his career at RTL Group, where he spent more than a decade managing television operations across Europe.

In 2013, he joined Time Warner/Turner in Hong Kong, working in business development and digital, before taking on oversight of Asia following the merger of Warner Media and Discovery, and subsequently being handed his Western Europe and Africa remit.

He has oversight of services including HBO Max, numerous TV networks, local content production (scripted and unscripted) and Warner Bros. Studio activities.

Heggen will also continue to serve on the board as non-executive director after stepping down.

Martin Taylor, chairman of RTL Group’s board of directors, said Schwebig would bring “considerable international expertise across linear TV, streaming and content production,” pointing to his two decades in the industry.

Rabe said: “Clément Schwebig is deeply familiar with the global TV industry and with RTL Group. We worked together over many years and I greatly value his expertise, leadership style and international network.

“Together with our CFO Björn Bauer and the CEOs of our business units, he will lead RTL Group with a team of first-class managers to further expand the company, in particular in the areas of streaming and content production.

“I would also like to personally thank Elmar Heggen for our long journey in leading and developing RTL Group, his determination and remarkable entrepreneurial achievements.”

Germany-based RTL Group has been navigating a turbulent environment over recent years, reporting a revenue slip in the first half of 2025, with a dip in US sales hitting production and distribution arm Fremantle.

It has been attempting to shift towards streaming, with those operations - ranging from RTL+ in Germany to M6+ in France - reporting an improving picture in H1, with streaming losses down almost 60% to €34m. The company also recently confirmed the sale of RTL Nederland and the €150m acquisition of Sky Deutschland.