German broadcaster RTLzwei and media company Warner Bros. Discovery Deutschland are joining forces to set up a joint advertising sales company.
Under the name El Cartel Brothers, the new venture is expected to start operating in 2026 – subject to approval by the German competition authorities. Headquartered in Munich, the sales house will market both companies’ TV and selected digital inventory in Germany.
The move comes just months after the German Federal Cartel Office blocked plans by RTL’s Ad Alliance to take over the advertising sales for RTLzwei – a decision that had put the future of RTLzwei’s long-standing sales unit El Cartel in jeopardy. Now, in a surprising twist, RTLzwei is not only securing its advertising future, but teaming up with a new, unexpected partner.
The new company is intended to pool the two broadcasters’ marketing strengths. “This joint venture will be a strong force in the German video advertising market. It brings our complementary portfolios together and combines them into even better offerings for agencies and clients,” said RTLzwei managing director Nicole Glatzmaier.
Matthias Heinze, Senior Vice President Commercial and Managing Director for Warner Bros. Discovery in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, added: “Strategic partnerships like this are a forward-looking response to the current changes in the media industry and send a signal of stability and new opportunities for advertising clients.”
With the launch of the joint venture, RTLzwei’s in-house unit El Cartel will cease its operations. Staff from both El Cartel and the existing Warner Bros. Discovery sales team will transfer to El Cartel Brothers, though the leadership of the new entity has not yet been announced.
The collaboration marks a strategic shift for both broadcasters. For RTLzwei, it secures advertising muscle at a time when solo sales operations are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain in a rapidly evolving market. For Warner Bros. Discovery, the partnership lays important groundwork for the 2026 launch of its streaming service HBO Max in Germany which will also contain an advertising-supported subscription model. This was confirmed by Heinze at the recent Media Tasting 2025 conference in Stuttgart.
Warner Bros. Discovery operates a wide portfolio of TV channels in Germany, including DMAX, TLC, Home & Garden TV, Eurosport, and Tele 5, alongside pay-TV brands such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Cartoon Network. RTLzwei, known for its reality programming and youth-oriented shows, adds further reach and audience segments to the portfolio.
