Gerhard Zeiler
Encyclopedia
Gerhard Zeiler is the current chief executive officer
of the German media company RTL Group
and a member of the executive board of Bertelsmann
, the media conglomerate that owns the RTL Group.
, Vienna
, to Hans and Dorothea Zeiler. He was the first born of identical twins.
His early education took place in his native Vienna, after which he studied psychology
, sociology
and educational science at the University of Vienna
.
for 23 years – eight in the public service broadcasting sector; the remainder in commercial television
.
His current employer, RTL Group, operates 40 TV channels in 10 countries, and owns FremantleMedia
, a content and production company that operates in 25 countries and exports its programming to over 150 countries .
After three years at the institute, his career took a change of direction when he began working as a freelance journalist
. In 1979 he was appointed press spokesman for the then Austria
n minister for education and the arts, Dr Fred Sinowatz
. He followed Dr Sinowatz to the federal chancellor’s office in 1983, going on to work for federal chancellor Dr Franz Vranitzky
.
(ORF) in Vienna. Despite being only 24, Zeiler had already realised that “television is part of my life” .
In 1991, he moved to Munich
when he was appointed CEO of German commercial TV channel, Tele 5
. In 1992 he became CEO of RTL II
. Two years later, in 1994, Zeiler returned to Vienna when he was appointed CEO of ORF .
in Cologne
. He succeeded Helmut Thoma . The role gave him responsibility for the German television channels RTL Television, Vox, RTL II, Super RTL
, and N-TV.
In March 2003 Zeiler became CEO of RTL Group . In 2005, he passed the management of RTL Television to Anke Schäferkordt, so that he could focus solely on the company’s international entertainment network.
Zeiler has been a member of the executive board of Bertelsmann AG since October 2005. He is also a member of the supervisory boards of Groupe M6 in France and RTL Television in Germany, and vice chairman of the board of the Greek Alpha Media Group.
In August 2010, Zeiler’s contract was renewed until the end of 2015 .
, Zeiler commented on the recovery of the television advertising
market in 2010. “In Western Europe, our channels are now performing at the same level as in 2008… Other media, such as the publishing sector, have not bounced back anything like as strongly.”
He is convinced that advertisers believe in the effectiveness of television – “TV is bigger than ever” – and believes “Television will remain the mass medium – the only medium capable of assembling truly mass audiences.”
Zeiler has long been a strong supporter of British television
. Speaking at the 2009 worldview address in Edinburgh
, he said European television makers had a huge amount to learn from the UK
.
He is one of the few non-British recipients of the Royal Television Society
(RTS) fellowship , and was chair of the 2008 RTS international conference ‘Opportunity Knocks’ .
He believes “Britain is an incredible centre for talent, creativity and ideas,” and that even the US networks look to the UK for inspiration. He went on to say, “British production companies are the absolute best in the world when it comes to non-scripted, non-fiction
formats.”
Zeiler has also been outspoken in his support of calls to relax UK product placement
rules, to help struggling commercial broadcasters
. He believes, “Product placement is a commercial fact of life… Carefully regulated product placement is a legitimate revenue stream
and the money raised could be used to support the production of original content – content viewers want to watch.”
Summarising his objective for RTL for the future, Zeiler commented: “We are developing our broadcasting operations into digital TV families with a presence on all new platforms. We will systematically meet the rising demand for attractive content and expand our production arm, FremantleMedia, with new talent, new formats and by doing business in new markets.”
audiovisual content trade show in Cannes
. The award came at a time when RTL Group continued to set new records, despite the crisis evident in the media sector .
In January 2011, Zeiler will become the first non-American to receive NATPE’s Brandon Tartikoff
legacy award. Named after arguably one of television’s greatest programmers, the award was created to recognise television professionals who exhibit extraordinary passion, leadership, independence and vision in the process of creating television programming.
Zeiler shares the eighth annual award with Dick Ebersol
, Mary Hart
and Regis Philbin
.
Commenting on the award, Rick Feldman, NATPE president and CEO, said, “We believe that Dick, Mary, Regis and Gerhard have remarkably shaped the global television industry on both business and pop cultural levels, and truly embody the spirit of the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award.”
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the German media company RTL Group
RTL Group
RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
and a member of the executive board of Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann AG is a multinational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers , which makes it the most international media corporation in the world. In 2008 the company reported a €16.118 billion consolidated...
, the media conglomerate that owns the RTL Group.
Early life
Zeiler was born in OttakringOttakring
Ottakring is the 16th District in the city of Vienna, Austria . It is located west of the central districts, north of Penzing and south of Hernals. Ottakring has some heavily populated urban areas with many residential buildings...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, to Hans and Dorothea Zeiler. He was the first born of identical twins.
His early education took place in his native Vienna, after which he studied psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and educational science at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
.
Summary
Zeiler has worked in televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
for 23 years – eight in the public service broadcasting sector; the remainder in commercial television
Commercial Television
Commercial Television was the third free-to-air broadcast television station in Hong Kong. It first went on air in 1975, and ceased transmissions in 1978.-History:...
.
His current employer, RTL Group, operates 40 TV channels in 10 countries, and owns FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
, a content and production company that operates in 25 countries and exports its programming to over 150 countries .
Early years
After graduating, Zeiler began his early career working as a scientific assistant at the Austrian Institute for Occupational Research .After three years at the institute, his career took a change of direction when he began working as a freelance journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. In 1979 he was appointed press spokesman for the then Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n minister for education and the arts, Dr Fred Sinowatz
Fred Sinowatz
Alfred "Fred" Sinowatz was born in Neufeld an der Leitha, Burgenland, Austria. He was an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party of Austria , and was Chancellor of Austria from 1983 to 1986.- Career until 1983 :Sinowatz, educated as a historian, was Minister of Education and Art in the...
. He followed Dr Sinowatz to the federal chancellor’s office in 1983, going on to work for federal chancellor Dr Franz Vranitzky
Franz Vranitzky
Franz Vranitzky is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria , he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997.-Early life and career:...
.
Moving into television
In 1986, Zeiler became secretary general of the Austrian Broadcasting CorporationORF (broadcaster)
Österreichischer Rundfunk, ORF, is the Austrian national public service broadcaster.Funded from a combination of a television licence fees and revenue from limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media...
(ORF) in Vienna. Despite being only 24, Zeiler had already realised that “television is part of my life” .
In 1991, he moved to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
when he was appointed CEO of German commercial TV channel, Tele 5
Tele 5
Tele 5 is a commercial television channel in Germany. The channel is largely known for showing classic American films and series, Japanese Anime and Shows.Tele 5 broadcasts from the Astra 1H, 1M, and 3A satellites and is uplinked by ASTRA Platform Services....
. In 1992 he became CEO of RTL II
RTL II
RTL II is a privately owned, commercial, general-interest German television channel.It was founded as a second-generation commercial broadcaster in 1993. It quickly became infamous for its perceived "trash programming", comprising lots of soft porn as well as shows such as Peep and many...
. Two years later, in 1994, Zeiler returned to Vienna when he was appointed CEO of ORF .
RTL Television
In November 1988, Zeiler joined RTL Group, being appointed CEO of RTL TelevisionRTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. He succeeded Helmut Thoma . The role gave him responsibility for the German television channels RTL Television, Vox, RTL II, Super RTL
Super RTL
Super RTL is a Cologne-based German television network operated by RTL Disney Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG. It was the second German television channel aimed mostly at children...
, and N-TV.
In March 2003 Zeiler became CEO of RTL Group . In 2005, he passed the management of RTL Television to Anke Schäferkordt, so that he could focus solely on the company’s international entertainment network.
Zeiler has been a member of the executive board of Bertelsmann AG since October 2005. He is also a member of the supervisory boards of Groupe M6 in France and RTL Television in Germany, and vice chairman of the board of the Greek Alpha Media Group.
In August 2010, Zeiler’s contract was renewed until the end of 2015 .
Outspoken
Zeiler is often outspoken in his views on the value of television as a medium, despite often challenging evidence to the contrary. In a 2010 interview with Dutch newspaper, NRC HandelsbladNRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
, Zeiler commented on the recovery of the television advertising
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
market in 2010. “In Western Europe, our channels are now performing at the same level as in 2008… Other media, such as the publishing sector, have not bounced back anything like as strongly.”
He is convinced that advertisers believe in the effectiveness of television – “TV is bigger than ever” – and believes “Television will remain the mass medium – the only medium capable of assembling truly mass audiences.”
Zeiler has long been a strong supporter of British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
. Speaking at the 2009 worldview address in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, he said European television makers had a huge amount to learn from the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
He is one of the few non-British recipients of the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
(RTS) fellowship , and was chair of the 2008 RTS international conference ‘Opportunity Knocks’ .
He believes “Britain is an incredible centre for talent, creativity and ideas,” and that even the US networks look to the UK for inspiration. He went on to say, “British production companies are the absolute best in the world when it comes to non-scripted, non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
formats.”
Zeiler has also been outspoken in his support of calls to relax UK product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
rules, to help struggling commercial broadcasters
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
. He believes, “Product placement is a commercial fact of life… Carefully regulated product placement is a legitimate revenue stream
Revenue stream
A revenue stream is a form of revenue. Revenue streams refer specifically to the individual methods by which money comes into a company. Revenue streams may be characterized...
and the money raised could be used to support the production of original content – content viewers want to watch.”
Summarising his objective for RTL for the future, Zeiler commented: “We are developing our broadcasting operations into digital TV families with a presence on all new platforms. We will systematically meet the rising demand for attractive content and expand our production arm, FremantleMedia, with new talent, new formats and by doing business in new markets.”
Recognition
In 2004, Zeiler was voted media personality of the year at the MipcomMipcom
-MIPCOM:MIPCOM is a TV and entertainment market which is held in the town of Cannes once every year, normally in October.It is essentially a content event for co-producing, buying, selling, financing and distributing entertainment content...
audiovisual content trade show in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
. The award came at a time when RTL Group continued to set new records, despite the crisis evident in the media sector .
In January 2011, Zeiler will become the first non-American to receive NATPE’s Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff was a television executive who was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, ALF, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Seinfeld, Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, Knight Rider, The A-Team, St...
legacy award. Named after arguably one of television’s greatest programmers, the award was created to recognise television professionals who exhibit extraordinary passion, leadership, independence and vision in the process of creating television programming.
Zeiler shares the eighth annual award with Dick Ebersol
Dick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
, Mary Hart
Mary Hart
Mary Hart is an American television personality and was the host of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up program Entertainment Tonight from 1982 to 2011.-Early life:...
and Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
.
Commenting on the award, Rick Feldman, NATPE president and CEO, said, “We believe that Dick, Mary, Regis and Gerhard have remarkably shaped the global television industry on both business and pop cultural levels, and truly embody the spirit of the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award.”
External links
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2009/aug/30/gerhard-zeiler-edinburgh-tv-festival
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/30/worldview-address
- http://www.rtlgroup.com/www/assets/file_asset/20100500_RTLGroup_CV_Zeiler_EN.pdf
- http://www.rtlgroup.com/www/assets/file_asset/RTLGroup_PortraitGZ_engl_clear_20110102.pdf
- http://www.economypoint.org/g/gerhard-zeiler.html
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2009/sep/01/gerhard-zeiler-british-tv-best
- https://backstage.rtlgroup.com/public/files/2010-week37-Backstage-newsletter.pdf
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/30/gerhard-zeiler-edinburgh-tv-festival
- http://www.rtlgroup.com/www/htm/home_news.aspx?ID=C6888DF213174752B3EAEEE148048A33
- http://www.natpe.org/natpe/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=40:press-releases&id=387:dick-ebersol-mary-hart-regis-philbin-and-gerhard-zeiler-to-receive-natpes-8th-annual-brandon-tartikoff-legacy-award&Itemid=72
- http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1024258/Five-expected-profit-year/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
- http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=1133754&ticker=RTL:LX&previousCapId=1882362&previousTitle=SKY%20DEUTSCHLAND%20AG
- http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=1133754&ticker=RTL:LX&previousCapId=1882362&previousTitle=SKY%20DEUTSCHLAND%20AG
- http://www.ip-network.com/rd/htm/newsFS.aspx?id=89CAC787A3684B84BCEC24C12B1B1082
- http://www.rts.org.uk/Info_page_two_pic_2_det.asp?id=8429&sec_id=3926
- http://www.rts.org.uk/doclib/RTS.pdf
- https://backstage.rtlgroup.com/public/htm/all/OldBackstageNews_912B013A49014F50BAA0738908107186.aspx
- http://www.rts.org.uk/doclib/RTS_low_res_AR_2008.pdf