Grief for RTL pioneer: Helmut Thoma died at the age of 86

Grief for RTL pioneer: Helmut Thoma died at the age of 86

Wien, Österreich - On May 3, 2025, Helmut Thoma, the long -time broadcaster of RTL, died in Vienna at the age of 86. His family announced that he died surprisingly from heart failure, exactly on his birthday. Thoma leaves a significant inheritance in the German television world.

dr. Helmut Thoma was born in Vienna on May 3, 1939. After training in a dairy in 1958, he caught up with his Matura at the evening school and received his doctorate in law at the University of Vienna in 1962. His career began as a judiciary at ORF and led him to RTL in 1982, initially as the program director of Radio Luxemburg.

successful broadcast management

1984 Thoma took over the directorate of RTLPLUS private television in Luxembourg. Under his leadership, RTL developed from a 25-man company to Germany's most successful commercial channel. In 1991 Thoma became the sole managing director of RTL in Germany and made the broadcaster in 1993 the most profitable television station in Europe. His achievements include the start of the first daily soap "good times, bad times", as well as the introduction of the first late night show with Thomas Gottschalk.

Responsibility for sporting transmissions, such as Formula 1 and the Champions League, also contributed to the success that Thoma built up. Under his leadership, RTL experienced an impressive increase in market share and advertising revenue. The introduction of controversial formats such as "Tutti Frutti" is also a facet of his career, which has not been unnoticed.

awards and other career

Thoma has received several awards for his achievements, including the "Golden Camera" (1989), the "Bambi" (1990), and the "International Emmy Award" (1994). He also received the "Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia" in 1995. After retiring in 1998 he handed over the management to Gerhard Zeiler.

In the years after his active time at RTL, Thoma advised the then NRW Minister of NRW and was committed to various supervisory boards. In 2014 he tried a comeback at the regional broadcaster NRW-TV at the age of 75, but the “nothing” format was not successful. Thoma was married three times, most recently to Daniele Milbert, a former assistant who wrote a book about him.

Helmut Thoma lived near Cologne for many years before setting between Vienna and Luxembourg. His life story reflects the development of television in Germany, which has continuously developed since the beginning in the 19th century until the comeric television of the 1980s. This development was largely shaped in the German media scene by personalities such as Thoma, who paved the way to many new formats.

The loss of Helmut Thoma represents a cut into the history of German television. For many, it remains unforgettable as a pioneer and designer of the modern media landscape.

You can find more details on his life and work in the reports of RuHR24 , RTL and Planet knowledge .