Stefan Raab has announced his comeback as a showmaster: “I’ve decided to do shows again,” said the 57-year-old on Saturday evening in Düsseldorf after a boxing exhibition match against Regina Halmich on the RTL television channel. Raab signed a contract with the Cologne-based private broadcaster for at least five years.
According to the broadcaster, the presenter and entertainer will be launching a new show next week on the paid streaming service RTL+ called “You won’t win the million with Stefan Raab”. In the weekly show, candidates can win one million euros every week – but only if they win quiz questions and games against Raab.
Raab explained that the new show format was not developed for conventional television by saying that it was “the way of the times”: “Modernity is playing out in streaming.” However, the presenter for RTL will also appear on traditional television. The broadcaster announced that there will be “numerous show formats” for RTL and RTL+.
New shows by Stefan Raab on RTL+
Accordingly, various shows are planned that will run at prime time – usually from 8:15 p.m. – and for which Raab will appear in front of the camera again at the end of the year.
Raab said goodbye to the screen at the end of 2015. Until then, he had mainly worked for ProSieben; for the Munich-based private broadcaster, he mainly produced the weekly program “TV total” and a series of shows such as “Schlag den Raab” or music and sports shows. This made Raab one of the most successful and well-known television faces in Germany for years.
The comeback announcement was made during Raab’s exhibition fight against former world boxing champion Regina Halmich. The presenter had already boxed against Halmich, now 47, twice before and lost both times. Raab also lost the third fight by a clear margin on points – he may have also broken a rib, as his ring doctor suspected after the fight.
There had already been speculation around the announcement of the fight that the 57-year-old could return to the screen. According to an industry service, Raab’s production company signed a contract with RTL for 90 million euros for shows. RTL did not initially confirm this amount.
Raab’s boxing match was also broadcast on RTL. It is unclear why the presenter no longer works for his former home channel ProSieben. Regarding his comeback, he said that RTL made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. It is important to him to have a “certain freedom” in his work: “We have found a common philosophy.”
Raab staged the boxing match with Halmich as a gigantic spectacle with fireworks, a boxing ring lowered from the ceiling of the hall in Düsseldorf and various show acts. For his own performance, Raab had a long staircase folded down from the ceiling of the hall, which he then slowly walked down.
There had been speculation beforehand about whether Raab was fit enough for the fight. He had used masks to portray himself as extremely overweight in video clips. Raab, who fought under the name “Killerplauze”, was much fitter and better trained in his comeback than in his previous fights against Halmich in 2001 and 2007. There will not be another fight against Halmich, which the former world boxing champion has ruled out.
Transparency note: The star belongs to Germany.
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.
