German Television Prize: Lifetime Achievement Award for Peter Kloeppel

The long-time RTL news presenter and journalist Peter Kloeppel receives the German Television Prize for his life's work. The founders of the award announced this eight days before the ceremony, which will take place on September 9th in Cologne as part of a large TV gala. “After more than 40 years as a journalist, it is actually a great honor to be recognized in this way,” said Kloeppel (67) to the German Press Agency.

The founders of the German Television Prize (ARD, ZDF, RTL, Sat.1, MagentaTV) recognize Kloeppel as a defining personality of German TV journalism. In 2001, the Frankfurt native also co-founded the RTL Journalism School for TV and Multimedia and was its founding director.

Together with his sports colleague Ulrike von der Groeben, Kloeppel hosted a total of 4,580 editions of “RTL Aktuell” between April 6, 1992 and August 23, 2024, which earned the two an entry as the “Longest Serving National Anchor Duo” in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“Peter Kloeppel is a TV legend and set standards as the long-time chief presenter of “RTL Aktuell” and as RTL editor-in-chief,” explains RTL managing director Inga Leschek, who will be the presiding founder of the German Television Prize in 2026.

“In his more than 30 years of work, he was the daily anchor at 6:45 p.m., giving viewers orientation even in challenging news situations by presenting the events at hand in a reliable and humane way,” says Leschek. “His moderation on September 11, 2001, when he covered the terrorist attacks in the USA in a live broadcast lasting more than seven hours, is unforgettable.”

Kloeppel told the dpa news agency: “I am not only very grateful, but also see the award as recognition of the work of all my colleagues who have produced news programs with me day after day for years. TV journalism is and remains teamwork – even if at the end of the day you can often only see one head.”

Kloeppel says that he and his wife Carol continue to divide their lives evenly between the Rhineland and the USA. “And in between we also like to travel, especially in Europe. All in all, I'm enjoying my retirement and hope to continue to stay healthy."

Kloeppel will probably spend the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001 in Germany shortly after the television awards gala, as he tells the dpa. “We also visit New York regularly because our daughter lives and works there - and of course we always think about the events of 25 years ago.”

The German Television Prize is sponsored by RTL, Sat.1, ARD, ZDF and Deutsche Telekom (Magenta TV). The streaming providers Disney+, Netflix and Prime Video are partners. The leadership changes year after year. In 2026 it will be on RTL.

The big TV gala will be hosted by Barbara Schöneberger for the ninth time, and RTL will broadcast on September 9th at 8:15 p.m.

On September 8th, Jan Köppen will be leading the “Night of the Creatives” at the Cologne Flora. The winners are recognized for their individual creative achievements.