Viennese Media Manager Helmut Thoma Has Died

He was considered one of Austria's most important media managers. In the 80s and 90s, he made RTL big as its managing director, thereby having a lasting impact on German private television.

Helmut Thoma has died

He came into contact with the media industry through ORF. Thoma then moved abroad to Radio Luxembourg, where the German private television offshoot RTL was founded, and in 1984 he became its managing director. He held this position until 1998 (at times together with Erich Staake), during which he built the company from a "25-man operation" into an industry giant. Under him, RTL achieved annual market shares of sometimes over 17 percent - today hardly imaginable for the private broadcaster. "I always paid attention to the audience, and I valued television as a service to the customer," Thoma revealed several years ago as his secret to building a successful television company.

Born in 1939 in Vienna, it initially did not seem that Thoma would build a private television station, as he dropped out of high school and worked in a dairy. However, he soon switched paths, studied law, and earned his doctorate at just 23 years old. He came into contact with the media industry through ORF. He headed the legal department of the public broadcasting house at the end of the 60s and the beginning of the 70s.

From "25-man operation" to industry giant

Thoma then moved abroad to Radio Luxembourg, where the German private television offshoot RTL was founded, and in 1984 he became its managing director. He held this position until 1998 (at times together with Erich Staake), during which he built the company from a "25-man operation" into an industry giant. Under him, RTL achieved annual market shares of sometimes over 17 percent - today hardly imaginable for the private broadcaster.

"I always paid attention to the audience, and I valued television as a service to the customer," Thoma revealed several years ago in a "Horizont" interview as his secret to building a successful television company. During his time, he made many mostly profitable decisions, always with an eye on the ratings, such as the launch of the German daily soap "Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten" (GZSZ) and the game show "Tutti Frutti" with plenty of nudity. The purchase of the Formula 1 broadcasting rights also fell into his era. Additionally, he introduced the advertising-relevant target group of 14- to 49-year-olds in the German-speaking area.

"In shallow waters, at least you can't drown"

RTL was repeatedly confronted with the accusation of lacking quality. Thoma, who was rarely at a loss for striking phrases, took it easy: "I always said: In shallow waters, at least you can't drown." Or: "The bait must taste good to the fish."

In 1998, his RTL career ended involuntarily. He had to hand over the top position to another Austrian - Gerhard Zeiler. Regarding his resignation, he once stated to "Welt am Sonntag": "The extent of ingratitude is simply unbelievable. There is no one in Europe who, like me, has built a television station from scratch and led it to market leadership."

Critical View on the Private Broadcasting Landscape

Many years after his departure, he viewed the media landscape critically, describing private television in Germany as a "disaster." Two large groups - RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 - would share the entire pie and had no interest in making "real programming." "The two would prefer to broadcast the test pattern if they could. This increases profits, but nothing else happens," Thoma said.

After his RTL exit, Thoma worked for several years as a media representative for the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia. Then he became self-employed and sat on numerous supervisory boards. Because: "Sitting in the garden and waiting for the Grim Reaper is not an option." For his professional achievements, Thoma was awarded many times - for example, as Media Man of the Year 1989, with the German Media Prize and an "International Emmy Award." In this country, he received the Golden Badge of Honor of the City of Vienna and the Grand Silver Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria.

Tributes to Helmut Thoma from Austria and Germany

"With Helmut Thoma, Austria and the entire media landscape in Europe lose a great personality," responded ÖVP media spokesperson Kurt Egger to the passing of the media manager. SPÖ media spokesperson Klaus Seltenheim described Thoma as a "great Austrian media maker" who significantly shaped the media location and landscape far beyond Austria's borders. "With his death, the European media landscape loses one of its most charismatic media managers, who was awarded many times for his work and expertise," NEOS media spokesperson Henrike Brandstötter was quoted in a statement.

The German Minister of State for Culture, Wolfram Weimer (CDU), honored Thoma as a "courageous visionary and "persistent enabler," while the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), considered Thoma, thanks to his "sense for viewer interests" and his "pointed manner," as an "unmistakable figure in the industry."

(APA/Red)

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