Warner Bros Discovery executive Clément Schwebig is to succeed Thomas Rabe as CEO of European broadcasting and production giant RTL Group.
Schwebig will join RTL Group in May 2026 from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he currently serves as President and Managing Director of the company’s Western Europe and Africa division.
In 2024, Rabe announced his intention to step down from RTL and its majority owner Bertelsmann.
Elmar Heggen, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer of RTL Group, will also step down by the end of 2025.
Schwebig began his career in the media industry at RTL Group, where he spent more than a decade managing television operations across Europe.
In 2013, he joined Time Warner/Turner in Hong Kong, where he served in several senior positions, including Head of Business Development and Digital for Asia, General Manager in China, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Asia Pacific.
After the merger of Warner Media and Discovery, he was appointed President and Managing Director of Warner Bros. Discovery in Asia, encompassing India, Southeast Asia, and Korea, based in Singapore.
In his current role as President and Managing Director of the company’s Western Europe and Africa division at Warner Bros. Discovery, he oversees a regional portfolio across brands such as Warner Bros., HBO, Discovery and Eurosport, covering TV networks, the streaming service HBO Max, local content production and Warner Bros. Studio activities.
RTL Group is home to 52 television channels, six streaming services and 40 radio stations in Europe. Its streaming services include RTL+ in Germany and Hungary, and M6+ in France.
The group also owns Fremantle, one of the world’s largest creators, producers, and distributors of scripted and unscripted content.
The streaming tech company Bedrock, the ad-tech company Smartclip and the social media company We Are Era are also owned by RTL Group.
Rabe said: “Clément Schwebig is deeply familiar with the global TV industry and with RTL Group. We worked together over many years and I greatly value his expertise, leadership style, and international network. Together with our CFO Björn Bauer and the CEOs of our business units, he will lead RTL Group with a team of first-class managers to further expand the company, in particular, in the areas of streaming and content production.”
Fremantle UK, which is part of RTL Group, recently appointed Adam Middleton as Head of Digital and Branded Content. Discover more here.
Alex Mahon and Charlotte Moore receive New Year Honours
Former Channel 4 Chief Executive Alex Mahon and ex-BBC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore are among the recipients in the 2026 New Year Honours list.
Women directed 8% of top 100 movies in 2025
The representation of women directors of the top films at the North American box office dropped significantly in 2025, according to the latest study from the University of Southern California (USC)’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
WBD likely to reject Paramount's latest hostile bid
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is likely to reject Paramount Skydance's $108.4bn hostile bid, according to reports.
FACT and UK police warn illegal streamers
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has contacted over a thousand individuals across the UK, warning them to immediately cease using illegal TV streaming services or face the risk of prosecution.
.jpg)
UK actors vote to refuse being digitally scanned on set
Members of the UK performer union Equity working in film and TV have voted to refuse to be digitally scanned on set by a landslide 99.6%, in an effort to secure artificial intelligence protections.
