Benjamin Fischer will take over the management of ARTE Deutschland from 1 October 2025. The broadcaster's shareholders' meeting officially appointed the experienced media manager to the position on 18 June. Fischer succeeds Markus Nievelstein, who is retiring after nine years.

In addition to his role as Managing Director, Fischer will also take on the role of ARD Coordinator for ARTE Germany, subject to the decision of the ARD directors on 24 June. Wolfgang Bergmann will continue in his role as part-time managing director and ZDF coordinator.

Fischer has more than 15 years of management experience in public broadcasting. He has been head of ARD-Online in Mainz since 2017, where he is responsible for the media library, the audio library and the digital strategy of the broadcaster network, among other things. His successes also include co-founding the ARD-ZDF streaming network, which has developed a joint platform strategy for the future of public service streaming.

Fischer is also already very familiar with the European cultural broadcaster ARTE: he worked at ARTE GEIE in Strasbourg for several years, most recently as deputy technical director. In this role, he managed key innovation projects and was instrumental in driving forward the channel's digital development.

Kai Gniffke, Director General of SWR and Chairman of the ARTE shareholders' meeting, praised Fischer as an "excellent digital expert with strategic vision and innovative strength". He has made a significant contribution to making the ARD Mediathek one of the leading streaming services in Germany today.

The change at the top also marks the end of Markus Nievelstein's term of office, who previously worked at WDR for over two decades and spent four years as Head of the Knowledge Department at ARTE GEIE. ARTE Deutschland honours his many years of commitment and his successful work for the channel.