Matthias Opdenhövel recently celebrated a comeback on “Hast du Töne?” (Do you have any tones?). “Schlag den Star” is coming up soon. He is the all-purpose weapon of television.
Whether you’re a music fan, sports enthusiast or a fan of entertainment shows: anyone who has turned on the television in the last 30 years or so will most likely know the face of Matthias Opdenhövel (53). The TV presenter with the sometimes slightly mischievous grin on his lips has been a fixture on the German TV landscape for decades. “Opdi”, as he likes to be called, has just celebrated the comeback of his quiz show “Hast Du Töne?” in prime time, and on June 2nd he will be hosting the new edition of “Schlag den Star” in prime time. But what other formats has he presented? These were some of his most important stations.
The beginnings of Matthias Opdenhövel
Born in Detmold in August 1970, Opdenhövel first completed his high school diploma before devoting himself to a business studies course after his military service. Fortunately for the German television landscape, the now long-time presenter soon dropped out and instead completed an internship at the later-defunct “Lippische Rundschau”. After a traineeship at Radio Lippe, Opdenhövel’s first stop in TV followed. Like so many other well-known names in German television, he took his first steps in television in the mid-1990s at the music channel VIVA, at the time as an editor.
This was followed by stints on a wide range of formats, including “Bitte Lächeln” with Aleks Bechtel (51), who also became known through VIVA. Or the morning show “Weck Up” with Barbara Schöneberger (50), who is no less busy in TV today than Opdi. During this time he also hosted the music quiz “Hast Du Töne?” on VOX, which celebrated its return on Sat.1 on May 30th.
It will be sporty
In the early and mid-2000s, Opdenhövel not only devoted himself to his TV jobs, he was also a stadium announcer for Borussia Mönchengladbach for a few years. Opdi also presented Bundesliga shows on the pay-TV channel “Arena”, perhaps hinting that he would soon become part of the team behind the most famous German sports format on TV.
Before that, however, Opdenhövel worked together with Stefan Raab (57), whom he already knew from his VIVA days. From 2006 to 2011, he hosted the successful format “Beat the Raab”, in 2010 “Beat the Star” and other shows by the cult TV producer – including the “TV total Wok World Championship” and the “TV total Tower Diving”. In 2007, Raab and Opdenhövel’s “Beat the Raab” won the German Television Award for “Best Entertainment Show/Best Entertainment Moderation”.
Another of Opdenhövel’s sporting stops was the Bundesliga broadcaster “Liga Total”, which, like the discontinued broadcaster “Arena”, was not destined for a rosy future. In 2011 he left ProSiebenSat.1 and went to ARD for a decade, where he became a permanent member of the “Sportschau” presenting team. Here he also presented ski jumping events and major tournaments, among other things – a particular highlight was the 2014 World Cup, in which the DFB team won its fourth title.
“We will miss his wit, his quick wit and his typical relaxed manner,” said ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkausky in May 2021, when Opdenhövel’s last sports presentation on Das Erste was due to take place. “The smiling Opdi is simply part of the team, no matter what he says,” he said as he left. But the “chameleon of friendliness” moved on – back to ProSieben and Sat.1.
Return and turmoil surrounding Elton
It had previously been announced that Opdenhövel would present exclusively for the broadcasting group in the future. And it will remain that way for the time being. According to a statement from April 2024, his contract was extended “for several years”.
Since his return, Opdi has been one of the all-purpose weapons in Unterföhring alongside Joko Winterscheidt (45), Klaas Heufer-Umlauf (40) and Steven Gätjen (51). Opdenhövel, who has been married to his wife Alexandra since 2012 and has two sons, has since hosted the “ran Bundesliga” and just recently the latest season of “The Masked Singer” – a format that has been firmly in his hands in terms of moderation since it was first broadcast in 2019. Another show by the group with Opdenhövel in recent years was “Zervakis & Opdenhövel. Live.” However, the magazine alongside Linda Zervakis (48) was discontinued by ProSieben at the end of 2023 after 77 editions.
Opdi will be back on Sunday, kicking off his second half with “Beat the Star”. Gätjen took over the show from him at the time, and later Raab’s former “show intern” Elton (53), who was able to present his way into the hearts of the viewers, came on the scene. However, after he was removed as presenter a few weeks ago, much to the dismay of many, Opdenhövel will return to the format on June 2nd at 8:15 p.m. on ProSieben. Then he will be able to demonstrate his sporting expertise again. In the first new show with Opdenhövel, the two football greats Mehmet Scholl (53) and Markus Babbel (51) will face off on the TV pitch in a duel for 100,000 euros, in keeping with the upcoming European Championships at home.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
