Powerful Migration to a Multibrand News Platform

Initial Situation

Over time, rtl.de had evolved into a fragmented system landscape, relying on five different CMS platforms, each developed for a specific use case in the content creation process such as creating detail, tag or video pages. These legacy systems were heavily customized, difficult to maintain, and lacked a unified approach for content delivery. The editorial teams faced a growing complexity, as workflows and content handling differed between platforms.
Furthermore, there was no consistent widget system in place, making it hard to reuse or structure content flexibly across RTL’s various brands and channels. The overall architecture had reached its limits in terms of performance, scalability, and future-readiness.

Goals

RTL Deutschland aimed to centralize their digital publishing infrastructure and lay the foundation for a scalable, high-performance platform. The new setup should support multiple RTL brands like rtl.de, ntv.de and wetter.de, while allowing for further expansion.

Key goals included:

• • Consolidating the existing systems into a single technological platform
  • Reducing operational and maintenance costs
  • Improving performance and editorial workflows
  • Empowering RTL’s tech team to focus on innovation instead of legacy issues

Our Solution

To achieve this, RTL selected CUE as their new central CMS and paired it with our XP Layer as the orchestration engine behind the RTL News Platform.

This combination enabled a clear separation of editorial content creation (via CUE) and channel-specific content orchestration (via the XP Layer). With its modular, widget-based architecture, the XP Layer allowed RTL to break down silos and standardize workflows without compromising on brand individuality.

Editors now work within CUE in a unified environment, while the XP Layer ensures dynamic, brand-specific presentation across rtl.de, ntv.de, and wetter.de. The setup also allows for seamless scaling to additional brands.

By replacing five outdated systems with one integrated solution, RTL significantly reduced complexity and operating costs. At the same time, the platform supports modern publishing needs such as dynamic routing, SEO-friendly URLs, automated redirects, and smart inheritance logic – essential for performance and flexibility in today’s digital media landscape.

The Result

The launch of the RTL News Platform marks a major step in RTL Deutschland’s digital transformation. Today, editorial teams benefit from streamlined workflows, centralized page building, and future-proof architecture.

At the same time, the RTL Tech team has more freedom to focus on strategic development, product innovation, and business growth – instead of managing multiple legacy systems.
One central platform. Fewer systems. More speed, flexibility, and control.