RTL rejigs team following Sky Deutschland deal

RTL Deutschland has restructured its senior team after gaining regulatory approval for its acquisition of Sky Deutschland, as parent RTL Group looks to combine the two entities “quickly and efficiently”.

Stephan Schmitter, who had already been confirmed as chief exec of the enlarged operator, will oversee a team that includes RTL Deutschland’s current chief content officer Inga Leschek, who retains her title at the expanding group.

Elke Walthelm, currently chief operating officer of Sky Deutschland, becomes chief human resources officer at RTL Deutschland, while Sky Austria and Sky Media boss Michael Radelsberger becomes chief consumer officer, taking responsibility for around 12.3 million paying subscribers across RTL+, Sky and WOW.

Andreas Fischer is chief operating officer; Max Orgonyi is chief transformation & AI officer; and Elke Walthelm is chief human resources officer.

The deal, which is expected to close 1 June, has also prompted the exits of CFO and human resources chief Ingrid Heisserer, and Carsten Schwecke, chief commercial, tech & data officer.

Julia Kloke, currently CFO at RTL parent Bertelsmann’s financial services provider Riverty, will become CFO of RTL Deutschland.

Outgoing RTL Group chief exec Thomas Rabe said the deal “creates a unique offering for entertainment, sport and news across free-to-air TV, pay-TV and streaming.” 

Around €250m of synergies are expected within three years and Schmitter added that the restructuring “underlines” the focus on “the future of television – particularly the streaming business.”

He continued: “In doing so, we are placing our high-quality, local content and the interests of our audience at the heart of our strategy.”

Rabe is set to leave RTL Group next month and will be replaced by Warner Bros Discovery’s Clément Schwebig, who was most recently president and managing director of the US studio in Western Europe and Africa.