European television giant RTL Group has unveiled a new German management set up after gaining regulatory approval for its takeover of compatriot pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland.
The team will comprise execs from both RTL and Sky, with the RTL Deutschland CEO handed control of the merged business as chief exec.
Earlier this week, the deal passed regulatory approval, meaning the deal is planned to go ahead on June 1. At this point, current Sky Deutschland COO Elke Walthelm will become Chief Human Resources Officer at RTL Deutschland and Michael Radelsberger, currently Managing Director of Sky Austria and Sky Media, switching to a Chief Consumer Officer role at the combined company.
Julia Kloke, who is currently CFO at Riverty, the financial services company owned by RTL parent Bertelsmann, will become CFO of RTL Deutschland, on May 1, with current CFO Ingrid Heisserer leaving. Frank Vogel, Managing Director of RTL ad sales biz Ad Alliance will begin reporting into Schmitter. Carsten Schwecke, currently Chief Commercial, Tech and Data Officer at RTL, is also leaving.
The final RTL Deutschland board will comprise Schmitter, COO Andreas Fischer, Kloke, Chief Content Officer Inga Leschek, Chief Transformation and AI Officer Max Orgonyi, Radelsberger and Walthelm.
“The combination of RTL and Sky creates a unique offering for entertainment, sport and news across free-to-air TV, pay-TV and streaming. We will gradually combine Sky and RTL and realise annual synergies of around €250 million within three years. Our aim is to bring together the best talent, content and processes from both companies.”
Sky moving out of the Comcast stable and into the RTL Group will make a key moment for German broadcasting, with some sourced suggesting it will remove a buyer from the market. However, with Fremantle parent RTL primarily in TV and streaming and Sky in pay-TV, it may not be that simple.
“I am delighted to appoint Elke Walthelm, Julia Kloke and Michael Radelsberger – experienced and versatile executives – to the Management Board of RTL Deutschland,” said RTL Group CEO Thomas Rabe. “Under the leadership of Stephan Schmitter, they will drive forward the integration and further transformation of the company.
“I wish the new management team every success in this important and challenging task. At the same time, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Ingrid Heisserer and Carsten Schwecke for their successful work and dedication – and wish them all the best for the future.”
Schmitter said the new board “underlines our clear focus on consistently aligning the joint organisation with the future of television – particularly the streaming business.”
