RTL Deutschland's half-year audience figures

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RTL Deutschland is the leading commercial broadcaster in the first half of 2024, while RTL+ is the most-used streaming service among young audiences.

From 1 January to 30 June 2024, RTL Deutschland achieved an average audience share of 27.4 per cent in the key 14-59 target group, extending its lead over main competitor ProSiebenSat.1 to a record 7.6 percentage points. Flagship channel RTL, meanwhile, achieved its strongest first half-year audience figures since 2019. RTL+ had the highest usage volume in the 14-29 target group and the highest growth rate among all streaming services in the 14-59 target group. Overall, RTL Deutschland celebrated strong audience figures during the first six months of 2024.

Inga Leschek, Chief Content Officer at RTL Deutschland, says: "A picture-perfect first half year! The fact that we achieved such great figures across TV and streaming shows that our content strategy is paying off. We have the best minds in front of and behind the camera and microphones, paired with an unbeatable mix of entertainment, news, sports and reality. Our afternoon line-up, consisting of three soaps and daily entertainment shows, also contributes to this outstanding overall success. Together with my team, I am looking forward to the second half of the year, in which we will take things to the next level."

RTL: Best first half-year since 2019

Flagship channel RTL achieved an audience share of 10.4 per cent in the 14-59 target group - the strongest figure since 2019 - and a total audience share of 8.8 per cent - the strongest figure since 2017. With an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year, RTL is the only major German commercial broadcaster to achieve year-on-year growth. Success drivers were the live matches of the UEFA EURO 2024, Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus! (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!) and Let's Dance.

Vox: Number two among commercial broadcasters

In the first half of 2024, Vox confirmed its status from 2023 as the second-most-popular channel among commercial broadcasters in both the 14-59 and total audience target groups. Vox also extended its success to RTL+, with Vox programmes achieving the most successful first half-year ever in terms of programme starts.

Top-performing programmes

With 44.84 million viewers, news programme RTL Aktuell was the most-watched regular programme brand across TV and streaming in the first half of the year. Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten (Good times, bad times), RTL Direkt, Exclusiv and NTV Nachrichten completed the top-five list, showing a high demand for daily news shows. Among individual formats and series, the UEFA EURO 2024 achieved 42.83 million viewers, followed by Wer wird Millionär? (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), Martin Rütter, Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus! and Let's Dance - showing a high demand for live sports and entertainment.

RTL+: First among all streaming services

Compared to the same period in 2024, RTL+ increased its usage volume by 20 per cent to 79.66 million hours in the 14-29 target group - ranking first among all measured streaming services. Similar to linear TV, the most successful programme brands were NTV Nachrichten, Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus! and Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. Audio content on RTL+ - music, audiobooks and podcasts - achieved year-on-year growth of 273 per cent.

Contacts

RTL is Europe's leading entertainment brand standing for entertainment, independent journalism, inspiration, energy and attitude. With our TV channels, streaming services, radio stations and online platforms in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Hungary and Luxembourg, we reach millions of people across Europe every day. The RTL brand is owned by RTL Group.

About RTL Group

RTL Group is a leading entertainment company across broadcast, streaming, content and digital, with interests in 60 television channels, seven streaming services and 36 radio stations. The Group's families of TV channels are either number one or number two in six European countries, while RTL Group owns or has interests in radio stations in France, Germany, Spain and Luxembourg. RTL Deutschland is the Group's largest business unit and Germany's first cross-media champion, operating across TV, streaming, radio, digital and publishing. RTL Group's streaming services include RTL+ in Germany and Hungary, Videoland in the Netherlands and M6+ in France. Fremantle is one of the world's largest creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content, responsible for more than 11,000 hours of programming per year, alongside an international network of teams operating in 27 countries. The streaming tech company Bedrock and the ad-tech company Smartclip are also owned by RTL Group. As a market leader, RTL Group strives to foster alliances and partnerships within the European media industry, for example by building a one-stop advertising sales house in Germany with Ad Alliance and driving international advertising sales with RTL AdAlliance. Bertelsmann is the majority shareholder of RTL Group, which is listed on the Luxembourg and Frankfurt stock exchanges and in the MDAX stock index.

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