In November 2025, we celebrate a truly remarkable milestone: RTL Spendenmarathon turns 30! What began as a bold programming experiment in 1996 has become a lasting institution – the longest-running charity format on German television – and a cornerstone of RTL Group’s and RTL Deutschland’s commitment to social responsibility.

Once a year, during 24 hours, regular programming is interrupted to call on viewers to support children in need. Spearheaded since day one by Wolfram Kons, Head of Charity at RTL Deutschland, RTL Spendenmarathon has raised over €304 million, directly benefiting hundreds of thousands of children both in Germany and globally.

“A huge experiment”

 Looking back, Wolfram Kons recalls how unconventional the idea first seemed: “The programme planners were extremely skeptical and thought we had gone mad because we had turned the entire daily schedule –and therefore the entire audience flow – inside out. We always went right between all the formats to call for donations. It was a huge experiment.” Yet the format, inspired by Jerry Lewis’ American Telethon, has proven not only successful but enduring, remaining virtually unchanged since its first edition in 1996.

Far from early skepticism, today, all corners of RTL Deutschland support the RTL Spendenmarathon, as notes Wolfram Kons. “Small charity plots are integrated into daily soaps celebrities quiz for the good cause with Günther Jauch, RTL journals report about our projects, NTV regularly give live reports from our studio, RTL Zwei and Super RTL send us their celebrities with a donation cheque, and people cook for us in Vox formats. This is one of the most beautiful developments in recent years.”

Wolfram Kons also emphasises that it is a great stroke of luck “that a channel, an entire broadcasting group, stands behind us, covers the costs, and enables us to forward the money without a single cent deducted – that’s impressive because, to my knowledge, this is really the strongest charity commitment by a broadcasting group in Germany.”

Since 2002, Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern has carried the DZI (German Central Institute for Social Issues) donation seal, certifying the transparency and effectiveness of its use of funds. It has become a trusted partner for Germany’s leading relief organisations, supporting targeted, sustainable aid projects.

A total of 192 celebrity sponsors have lent their names and hearts to the marathon over the years – from Steffi Graf and Shakira to Michael Schumacher, Barbara Schöneberger, Manuel Neuer, Queen Silvia of Sweden and even the late Pope Francis.

These figures, alongside colleagues and partners, have made RTL Spendenmarathon a powerful collective achievement that meaningfully touches lives far beyond the studio.

In November 2025, we celebrate three decades of commitment, solidarity and growth. With new aid projects and familiar faces, the 30th RTL Spendenmarathon promises to be another unforgettable moment in RTL Deutschland’s legacy of helping children in need.