Gerhard Zeiler

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Gerhard Zeiler (born July 20, 1955 in Vienna ) is an Austrian media manager . After journalistic and political engagement in Austrian politics, he switched to the media industry in 1986. His positions included managing the German TV stations Tele5, RTL II and RTL and four years as director of ORF. After nine years as CEO of RTL Group, he is now President of Turner Broadcasting System International and is responsible for all of the company's entertainment, news and children's channels outside of North America, including CNN International.

Gerhard Zeiler

Beginnings

Youth and school career

Gerhard Zeiler (right) and his twin brother

Gerhard Zeiler was born together with his twin brother Helmut on July 20, 1955 as the son of Dorothea and Hans Zeiler in Vienna-Ottakring. From 1961 on, Zeiler attended elementary school and grammar school in Vienna and graduated in 1973. He then studied psychology , sociology and education . In January 1979 he became a research assistant at the Austrian Institute for Vocational Training Research . He also works as a freelance journalist.

Career

Entry into politics

In November 1979, Zeiler became press secretary and press spokesman for the Minister for Education and Art, Fred Sinowatz ( SPÖ ). When he became Austrian Chancellor in 1983 , Zeiler retained this position until October 1986 , even under Sinowatz's successor Franz Vranitzky .

ORF (General Secretary)

In November 1986, Zeiler became secretary general of the ORF - a position that is traditionally considered the liaison between the public broadcasting company (which at that time still had a monopoly position) and politics. Zeiler held this position under the artistic director Thaddäus Podgorski until December 1990.

Tele5

Zeiler 1991 as Tele5 managing director in Munich

On the recommendation of the Austrian managing director of RTL plus, Helmut Thoma , Zeiler became managing director of Tele 5 in Munich, which started in 1984 as Musicbox . Together with his program director Kathrin Zechner , today's ORF TV director, he started successful formats such as Ruck Zuck , Bim Bam Bino and Hopp or Top . When Leo Kirch decided in 1992 to take Tele 5 in its existing form as ProSieben's main competitor and convert it to DSF ( German Sports TV ), Zeiler's activity ended on December 31, 1991.

RTL II

Despite a very lucrative offer from Leo Kirch to take annual leave, he decided to take on the post of managing director of the new TV channel RTL 2 - again mediated by Helmut Thoma - where Zeiler worked first in Cologne until August 1994 and then in Munich.

ORF (General Director)

In 1994, Gerhard Zeiler became general director of the ORF and, as a company reorganizer, initiated a program and structural reorganization of the company. His primary goal was to position the ORF programs in such a way that they can withstand the increasing competition from private providers and German broadcasters.

RTL TV

In 1998, Zeiler took over the management of RTL Television as the successor to his compatriot Helmut Thoma and appointed Frank Berners as program director of the station. With the motto “I fight for every mark!” He soon achieved great success. As early as 1999, the German journalist and television presenter Geert Müller-Gerbes railed : "Contrary to popular belief, RTL no longer makes television, but makes a profit". He also said the program was only "accepted".

In 2000 Zeiler became a member of the supervisory board of RTL Group , and two years later of the French private broadcaster M6 . In November 2004, Zeiler stepped down from his position as managing director at RTL Television to Marc Conrad from Luxembourg , but took it over again in February 2005 after a heated dispute, before finally handing it over to Anke Schäferkordt in September 2005 and being able to devote himself fully to his activities at RTL Group.

RTL Group

After the departure of Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Middelhoff , in March 2003 Zeiler became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RTL Group, the holding company for all 45 TV and radio stations (32) worldwide. Under his leadership, the RTL Group expanded into new countries such as Russia, Spain and Croatia. She expanded the content business (Fremantle Media) worldwide and posted record profits. However, she had to withdraw from Greece and Great Britain. The successful manager got on the last day of his tenure at RTL Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker the country medals awarded.

Turner Broadcasting

Gerhard Zeiler London

In April 2012, Zeiler became president of Turner Broadcasting System International, Time Warner's TV subsidiary, which also operates channels such as TNT, Cartoon network and CNN. Zeiler's new activities will include responsibility for all entertainment and children's channels and associated media services outside of North America, as well as the distribution and commercial activities of CNN International. That's 130 channels in more than 200 countries with 3800 employees and two billion dollars in sales.

Further mandates

Zeiler was a member of the board of trustees of the non-profit Bertelsmann Foundation (2002–2004). It has held the majority of the shares in the Bertelsmann group since 1993 .

Private

From his marriage to Amanda he has a daughter Nina. He spends more than half of the year traveling and describes Salzburg and London as the centers of his life.

Awards

Publications

  • 2019: Passionately red - why more social democracy , Brandstätter Verlag, Vienna 2019, ISBN 978-3-7106-0386-0

literature

  • Jörn Krieger: The popularization of the medium of television: From the elite medium to the scene of the ordinary citizen , ISBN 3-8311-3687-4

Web links

Commons : Gerhard Zeiler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Change: Tele5 to DSF, Interview Gerhard Zeiler (video)
  2. ↑ The award of the National Order of Luxembourg to Gerhard Zeiler
  3. ↑ "The cash cowboy goes" conversion: Zeiler surprisingly leaves RTL -> taz from February 9, 2012
  4. ↑ Turner International with 3,800 employees - derstandard.at February 8, 2012
  5. ↑ People and Markets . Erlen and Zeiler complete the Bertelsmann Foundation's Board of Trustees. In: The world . August 30, 2002, p. 11 .
  6. ↑ Bertelsmann is now majority owned by the foundation . In: German printer . October 14, 1993, p. 4 .
  7. ↑ Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award Presenters (Video)
personal data
SURNAME Zeiler, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian manager
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna