RTL Deutschland Starts 2025 With Record First Quarter
RTL+ remains on an expansionist course, and is still the clear number one among young viewers.
In the first quarter of this year, RTL+ was by far the most popular German streaming service among young audiences. According to RTL Deutschland, RTL+ was the most popular service on the market in its target demographic of 14- to 29-year-olds, with usage volume reaching 49.3 million hours, and 134.55 million hours among 14- to 49-year-olds. Compared to the previous year, RTL+ increased its usage volume by 27.1 percent among the overall audience and by as much as 29 percent among 14 to 49-year-olds – here, the streaming service was #1 for the eighth consecutive month in both streaming numbers and subsequent video-on-demand (VOD). In addition, RTL+ was the first and only private streaming service whose cumulative net reach exceeded the ten million mark every month in the first quarter.
RTL Deutschland’s program brands also dominated the video-on-demand rankings of commercial broadcasters in the first quarter: the group was behind ten of the top 15 program brands. First place went to the RTL format “Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!,” followed by “NTV Nachrichten.” The top streaming formats on RTL+ were the 18th season of “Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!” with 31.41 million views and “Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten” with 37.48 million views. The reality formats “Are You The One” with 16.63 million views and “Make Love, Fake Love” with 14.08 million views were also big streaming hits.
Double-digit market shares for RTL
RTL was the only commercial TV station to achieve double-digit market shares in the first quarter – both in its core target group of 14 to 59-year-olds (10.1 percent) and among 14 to 49-year-olds (11.6 percent). Among young viewers, the station even gained 0.1 percentage points compared to the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, Vox once again secured second place among commercial stations, after RTL, with a market share of 5.4 percent among 14 to 59-year-olds. RTL up also made year-on-year gains among 14 to 49-year-olds, increasing its market share by 0.2 percentage points to 1.7 percent. Toggo maintained its market leadership in the children’s segment and increased its market share among 3-to 13-year-olds to 17.6 percent in the first quarter – an increase of 1.3 percentage points. NTV was also able to increase its market share – among 14 to 59-year-olds, the news brand gained 0.1 percentage points for a market share of 1.4 percent, and among young viewers (14 to 49 years) improved its market share by 0.2 percentage points to 1.7 percent.
The gap between RTL Deutschland’s channels and Pro Sieben Sat.1 remains substantive: The Cologne-based broadcasting group scored 21.4 percent of the total audience, putting it 7.5 percentage points ahead of its Unterföhring-based competitor; 26.2 percent of the 14 to 59-year-olds (6.4 percentage points ahead of Pro Sieben Sat.1); and 28.7 percent among young viewers ages 14 to 49 (6.8 percentage points ahead).
