RTL Deutschland restructures technology organisation after Sky merger

RTL is to combine the technology functions of RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland following the completion of their merger.

Patrick Sturm has been appointed Executive Vice President Technology, taking responsibility for the newly structured technology organisation.

Sturm most recently served as Chief Technology Officer at Sky Deutschland, where he played a key role in transforming the company's customer platforms. He will report directly to Andreas Fischer, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of RTL Deutschland.

In his new role, Sturm will oversee RTL Deutschland's entire technology organisation. His responsibilities include integrating the company's technology platforms across infrastructure, playout, streaming, CRM, data, and AI enablement. He will aim to combine the technological strengths of RTL and Sky and bring innovation into the organisation more quickly.

RTL Group closed its acquisition of Sky Deutschland in June 2026, bringing together two recognisable TV brands in the German-speaking market with around 12.3 million paying subscribers.

Fischer said: "Technology is a key success factor for the future of our company. With Patrick Sturm, we are bringing on board an experienced technology and transformation executive who will further develop our technology organisation and provide important momentum for RTL Deutschland's next phase of growth. His experience and deep understanding of complex technology platforms make him the ideal choice for this key role."

Sturm said: "Together, RTL and Sky possess exceptional technological expertise and outstanding teams. We want to build on those strengths. Our ambition is to create one of the strongest technology teams in the media industry and operate at the same technological level as the world's leading streaming platforms. To achieve this, we will continue to develop our strengths in a targeted way and take our company's technological capabilities to the next level."

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