Carsten Schmidt

Carsten Schmidt (born 10 October 1963)[1] is a German business executive. He was the CEO of Sky Deutschland from 2015 to 2019.[2][3] In 2020, he took over the position as CEO of Bundesliga club, Hertha BSC.[4] In the same year, he was appointed to the Executive Committee of Special Olympics Germany.[5]

Early life

Schmidt was born in October 1963, in Lüneburg, Germany. After graduating from high school in his hometown Winsen, he completed a commercial apprenticeship in Hamburg, and graduated with a business administration degree from Munich University of Applied Sciences. During this time, Schmidt spent a semester in Toronto, Canada, on a scholarship from the Carl Duisberg Society.[6]

Career

Schmidt began his career in the media industry at Wige Media, at the time one of Europe's leading sports TV production companies, where he headed the marketing and television department as Managing Director.[7]

Sky Deutschland

Carsten Schmidt joined the media company Sky Deutschland (then Premiere) in 1999 as Head of Sports and was appointed to the Management Board in 2006 as Chief Officer Sports, Advertising Sales & Internet.[2] From June 2015 to December 2019, Schmidt was CEO of Sky Deutschland with responsibilities for the German-speaking markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. During 2020 he served as a Senior Advisor to the company.[8]

Under Schmidt's leadership, Sky Deutschland produced its first Sky Originals series, including the award-winning series Babylon Berlin, Das Boot and Der Pass.[1][9] The company also launched several high-profile campaigns such as the initiative Sky Ocean Rescue, which aims to help protect our oceans by eliminating the use of single-use plastic packaging.[10]

Carsten Schmidt's accomplishments include the launch of Sky Sport News, Germany's first 24-hour sports news channel,[11] and the securing of major sports rights including the UEFA Champions League, the German Bundesliga and Formula 1.[1][12] Schmidt strengthened Sky's relationship with the German Football League (DFL)[7][13] and developed new business areas in advertising sales.[14]

Hertha Berlin

In December 2020, Schmidt took on the role of managing director of Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin. In addition to his overall responsibility as managing director, Schmidt had direct responsibility for marketing, sales, strategy, corporate communications and internationalization.[15] According to press reports, the German Football League (DFL) had planned to bring Schmidt to Frankfurt as CEO in 2021. However, Schmidt saw his future at Hertha Berlin in Berlin.[16][17] On 12 October 2021, Hertha BSC and Schmidt agreed to terminate his contract with immediate effect for personal reasons.[18]

Management advisor

Since July 2022, Schmidt has been working as advisor in the fields of media, sports and strategy.[19]

Special Olympics

Schmidt has been a member of the Executive Committee of Special Olympics Germany since 2020 and serves as Vice President of Marketing, Communication and Digitalisation in an honorary capacity.[20] In this role, he initiated the Special Olympics Media Alliance on the occasion of the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023, which received the Horizont Sport Business Award as Medium of the Year.[21][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Corvin, Ann-Marie (12 September 2017). "The transformation of Sky Deutschland". IBC. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  2. ^ a b Barraclough, Leo (2015-03-26). "Carsten Schmidt Replaces Brian Sullivan at Sky Deutschland". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  3. ^ Roxborough, Scott (2019-11-21). "Devesh Raj to Replace Carsten Schmidt as Sky Deutschland CEO". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  4. ^ "Ex-Sky Deutschland chief Schmidt to be Hertha Berlin CEO". SportBusiness Media. 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  5. ^ a b "A real premiere: Media Alliance for #Berlin2023". Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023. 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  6. ^ "'Jetzt packen wir es gemeinsam an'" (in German). Hertha BSC. 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  7. ^ a b Ramsay, Derek (2017-09-26). "Carsten Schmidt". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  8. ^ Clarke, Stewart (2019-11-21). "Devesh Raj Replacing Carsten Schmidt as Sky Deutschland CEO". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  9. ^ Krieger, Jörn (2016-03-24). "Sky Deutschland invests in TV series". Broadband TV News. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  10. ^ Hennings, Kevin (2017-05-10). "Gegen Plastikmüll: Sky startet Ocean Rescue Week". DWDL.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  11. ^ SVG Staff (2011-10-21). "Sky Deutschland announces launch date for Sky Sport News HD". SVG Europe. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  12. ^ Roxborough, Scott (2013-12-09). "21st Century Fox's Sky Deutschland Scores Champions League Through 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  13. ^ Zorn, Roland (2019-09-20). "Der Taktgeber" [The clock generator] (PDF). DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga e.V. (in German). p. 10. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  14. ^ Eckstein, Eckhard (2012-03-01). "Sky Media Network vermarktet Sky". mebucom.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  15. ^ Ross, Martin (2020-09-18). "Ex-Sky Deutschland chief Schmidt to be Hertha Berlin CEO". SportBusiness Media. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  16. ^ Krei, Alexander (2021-06-21). "Schmidt sagt DFL ab, guter Start für neue Football-Liga". DWDL.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  17. ^ "'My future lies in Berlin at Hertha BSC!'". Hertha BSC. 2021-06-19. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  18. ^ Hunzinger, Andreas (2021-10-13). "Schmidt: 'Eine Situation, die ich nicht nebenbei managen kann'". kicker (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  19. ^ Nahar, Chaled; Bark, Marcus (2024-01-22). "CVC und Blackstone: Investor in der DFL - Geld der Saudis, Verbindungen und Lobbyarbeit". sportschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  20. ^ "Präsidium: Carsten Schmidt, Vizepräsident Marketing, Kommunikation und Digitalisierung". landesverbaende.specialolympics.de. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  21. ^ Sonnenschein, Bettina (2023-10-12). "Medium des Jahres: Eine Medienallianz, die erst der Anfang sein sollte". horizont.net (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-28.