RTL Deutschland Establishes Dedicated AI Infrastructure for Sidekicks, Their New Agentic AI Platform Developed by smartclip

Cologne, Germany – 14 October 2025 – Sidekicks and RTL Deutschland, part of RTL Group, today announced the launch of a dedicated AI infrastructure. Hosted by RTL Technology, a subsidiary of RTL Deutschland, the infrastructure is designed to support Sidekicks – the newly introduced agentic AI platform developed by smartclip for the media industry.

Sidekicks combines media intelligence with process automation, embedding AI agents directly into operational workflows. Designed specifically for the media and advertising ecosystem, it enables scalable, secure, and efficient AI-powered innovation. 

The new setup provides a fully AI-capable environment within RTL Deutschland’s technology division while operating on a completely separate high-performance cluster. The infrastructure features enhanced cooling and secure, isolated connections to ensure maximum performance and protection for Sidekicks-based operations.

By hosting Sidekicks in this environment, smartclip ensures development and deployment under conditions that meet the strictest requirements for data protection, operational resilience, and scalability, without reliance on external cloud services.

“Building a dedicated AI infrastructure for Sidekicks reflects RTL Deutschland’s commitment to enabling innovation in this category while safeguarding the operational and informational integrity of our business,” said Frank Penning, CIO at RTL Deutschland and Managing Director RTL Technology. “The isolated cluster gives us both the computational power and the protection required to advance agentic AI in practice.”

This initiative also showcases the synergies across RTL Group companies, with smartclip and RTL Deutschland working hand in hand to deliver innovation on a shared technological foundation. The dedicated infrastructure not only supports today’s agentic workflows but also builds trust for future AI applications by guaranteeing that proprietary data remains protected within the Group.

About RTL Deutschland

RTL Deutschland is Germany’s leading entertainment company across all media genres: TV and streaming, print and digital, radio and podcasts. It brings together some of the country’s strongest media brands – from RTL to STERN, from GEO to VOX, from ntv to Schöner Wohnen. With RTL+, the company operates Germany’s leading streaming service with over 6.3 million subscribers. Its cross-media offering extends beyond video to include music, podcasts and audiobooks. RTL Deutschland owns 15 TV channels as well as numerous digital platforms and premium magazines, including Wetter.de and Capital. RTL Radio Deutschland is also one of the country’s largest private radio groups, with stakes in 24 radio stations such as ANTENNE BAYERN and Radio Hamburg.

Around 1,700 journalists provide informative and entertaining coverage of all topics relevant to society. From news to sports, from living to lifestyle – RTL Deutschland reaches 97 per cent of the population.

Through Ad Alliance, the company operates Germany’s largest advertising sales house. Thanks to targeted investments in technology and data, RTL Deutschland is strategically positioning itself to become the country’s leading technology-driven media company. Headquartered in Cologne with 17 additional locations, mainly in Hamburg and Berlin, RTL Deutschland is a subsidiary of RTL Group.

About smartclip

smartclip is the adtech business of RTL Group — Europe’s leading free-to-air broadcaster group. Our proprietary advertising technology is custom-built for the needs of European broadcasters and publishers — enabling media owners to implement smarter monetisation strategies. We are committed to delivering the most innovative ad experiences spanning in-stream, out-stream, addressable TV, connected TV, audio, and gaming — ultimately empowering brands with true cross-screen storytelling opportunities on all devices.

Headquartered in Hamburg, smartclip has offices in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Gütersloh, Amsterdam, and Paris.

For more information: Please visit www.smartclip.tv or get-sidekicks.ai and follow us on LinkedIn.