RTL
RTL is a private television channel based in Cologne. The station obtains its broadcasting licence from the Lower Saxony State Media Authority. The TV channel is part of RTL Deutschland, which in turn belongs to the international and listed RTL Group. The Bertelsmann Group holds 76 % of the shares (as of 02/2024) in RTL Group.
In the 1980s, RTL (then known as RTLplus) was one of the first private broadcasters to receive a licence and benefit from the liberalisation of the TV market in Germany. RTL broadcasts nationwide. In addition, there are four "regional windows" (North, West, Hesse, RON TV), which are only broadcast in the regional reception areas.
RTL currently employs 7500 people. In addition to the RTL TV channel, RTL Deutschland also includes 14 other TV channels, numerous radio stations and digital offerings. Since the merger with the Bertelsmann publishing subsidiary Gruner + Jahr in 2022, the company's portfolio has also included various print magazines.
Audience Share
7.9%
Ownership Type
private
Geographic Coverage
National
Content Type
free content
Media Companies / Groups
RTL Deutschland
Bertelsmann
Ownership Structure
The ownership structure of RTL Deutschland is a complex one, consisting of various shareholdings and corporate structures.
RTL Deutschland's share capital is wholly owned by UFA Film und Fernseh GmbH, which in turn belongs to the listed RTL Group, one of the leading international media companies based in Luxembourg.
The multinational media group Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA holds 76% of the shares in RTL Group and is itself controlled by the Bertelsmann Foundation (77%) and the Mohn family (19%). However, the Bertelsmann Foundation's shares are attributed to Mohn, as she has far-reaching powers and control within the foundation as the founder.
Voting Rights
The voting rights of the main shareholder (Bertelsmann) are wholly controlled by Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft (BVG). BVG is a body set up by Bertelsmann founder Reinhard Mohn to continue the company in its original spirit. Accordingly, the founding Mohn family is also the most strongly represented on the BVG Steering Committee (Dr Brigitte Mohn, Christoph Mohn as Chairman & Liz Mohn). All members have equal voting rights, with the exception of Liz Mohn, who has a veto right.
Individual Owner
Group / Individual Owner
Free float
17.9% of the shares of RTL Group S.A. are in free float and freely tradable on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
General Information
Founding Year
1984
Affiliated Interests Founder
RTLplus (renamed RTL Television in 1992) was founded by CLT and UFA in 1984. The Bertelsmann Group held 40% of the shares in RTL via UFA Film und Fernsehen GmbH. The Austrian Helmut Thoma became the first director of RTLplus and, together with the then CEO of Bertelsmann, Mark Wössner, was a driving force behind the introduction of private television in Germany.
Affiliated Interests Ceo
has been CEO of RTL Germany since January 2024. Previously, Schmitter made a career at RTL's radio division and eventually moved to the editorial department. Schmitter is also responsible for the streaming service RTL+ and the publishing business of Gruner + Jahr. Since the beginning of 2024, he has also been a member of the Group Management Committee (GMC) at Bertelsmann, an advisory board that advises the Bertelsmann Executive Board on strategic issues.
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
Chefredakteur von RTL Deutschland, begann seine Laufbahn mit einer Ausbildung bei Axel Springer und wechselte 1989 zu RTL als Nachrichtenredakteur. Dort hatte er verschiedene Rollen in der Redaktion inne, bis er schließlich 2014 Chefredakteur wurde. Im Laufe des Jahres 2024 sollte Stephanie McClain den Posten übernehmen, da Wulf 2025 in den Ruhestand geht. Wegen internen Meinungsverschiedenheiten platzte die Nachfolgeregelung allerdings.
Affiliated Interests other important people
Chief Commercial, Technology & Data Officer
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer
CEO of RTL Group and Chairman of the Executive Board of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA.
Contact
RTL Deutschland
Picassoplatz 1
50679 Köln
Germany
T: +49 (0)221 - 456-6-0
E: webmaster@rtlinteractive.de
W: RTL.com
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
€ 2.8 Billion (2022) / USD 2.9 Billion
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
€ 459 Million / USD 482 Million (Adjusted EBITA (2022))
Advertising (in % of total funding)
73%: € 2 Billion (2022) / USD 2.1 Billion
Market Share
Missing Data
Further Information
Meta Data
There is no information on market share (by revenue). There is information on RTL Group's market share in TV advertising, but this is not broken down to RTL Germany.
Operating profit is only stated in an adjusted calculation (Adjusted EBITA). Information on the composition of the indicator can be found in the Annual Report (2022, page 58).
The average exchange rate from the year in which the source was published was used for the conversions from euros to US dollars (2023: USD 1.08 / 2022: USD 1.05).
