Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 4, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Among 14- to 29-year-olds, an average 7.2 % MA was achieved. The development in the fiercely contested early evening is particularly noteworthy: In the 17:00 to 20:00 time slot, RTL II increased its average market share among viewers aged 14 to 49 by an outstanding 16 %.
Series
It was the relaunch of the current television season: With “Heroes”, RTL II is showing the most successful mystery series currently on German television*. The series highlight launched in October with an excellent 17.3 % MA. Since then, the weekly episodes have achieved an average 11.2 % MA. It will not be until March 2008 that viewers learn whether and, if so, how the heroes succeeded in preventing the destruction of New York.
Another quality series impressed in the summer with very good figures: “Rom”, the spectacular event series, fascinated up to 9.4 % of viewers in the target group. The best science fiction is also on air at RTL II. With “Stargate”, RTL II presents one of the world’s most successful SciFi series. The final tenth season achieved up to 11.1 % MA. The high-quality crime series “Law & Order: New York” is also developing very successfully (up to 8.5 % MA).
In the early evening, the RTL II sitcoms consistently deliver good ratings. With “Immer wieder Jim” and “Hör mal, wer da hämmert”, as well as the daily summaries of events in the Big Brother house, RTL II increased its average market share in the 17:00 to 20:00 time slot by 16 % compared with the previous year (5.7 % MA in 2007 compared with 4.9 % MA in 2006).
Feature films
RTL II is excellently positioned in the feature-film genre. Among those scoring well were the action highlight “End of Days – Nacht ohne Morgen” (12.4 % MA), the fantasy action film “Blade 2” (11.6 % MA), “Lethal Weapon II – Brennpunkt L.A.” (11.4 % MA), the comedies “Schöne Bescherung” (11.3 % MA) and “American Pie 4: Die nächste Generation” (10.3 % MA), as well as the romantic comedy “Bridget Jones – Schokolade zum Frühstück” (10.6 % MA).
Docu-soaps / Reality / Music events
One of RTL II’s defining programme colours is the docu-soap genre. With more than 150 episodes, “Frauentausch” is one of RTL II’s strongest programme brands, with up to 14.2 % MA. Since November and December respectively, “Die Kochprofis – Einsatz am Herd” (up to 9.1 % MA) and the helpers from “Zuhause im Glück – Unser Einzug in ein neues Leben” (up to 10.6 % MA) have also joined the circle of anniversary docu-soaps: Both celebrated their 50th episode. In addition, Verona Pooth’s commitment to people in need was very well received by viewers (up to 8.9 % MA) – “Engel im Einsatz – mit Verona Pooth” will continue from January 8, 2008.
It remains a media phenomenon: “Big Brother”, the mother of all reality shows, delighted its fans for 150 days. The finale of the seventh season achieved top ratings (15.9 % MA). The eighth season starts on January 7, 2008.
With the broadcast of the “Concert for Diana”, RTL II presented the concert event of the year. 1.72 million viewers produced a magnificent MA of 10.9 %. For eleven years, “THE DOME”, Europe’s largest music show and one of Germany’s strongest youth brands, has been the platform for the current top acts and chart newcomers. The reward in 2007: Up to 12.3 % MA among 14- to 29-year-olds. The gigantic open-air party “Loveparade 2007″from Essen also achieved an outstanding 9.1 % MA – in 2008 it will be held in Dortmund. The grand finale among the music events was “Welcome 2008 – Silvester am Brandenburger Tor”, the broadcast of Berlin’s New Year’s Eve celebration from the Brandenburg Gate: The biggest party at the turn of the year achieved 8.5 % MA.
Information
Another focus of RTL II’s programming is its successful information programmes. The daily “RTL II News” (up to 10.2 % MA) and the Sunday “Das Nachrichtenjournal” (up to 14.1 %) are established news formats that present information quickly, compactly and in a modern way – especially for the young target group. The sophisiticated RTL II reportage series “100 Tage” (8.8 % MA) revisits forgotten headlines. With “Die RTL II Schicksalsreportage” (up to 11.4% MA), the channel very successfully established a new type of reportage series devoted sensitively and emotionally to people in difficult situations.
The knowledge magazine “Welt der Wunder” (up to 11.4 % MA) presents the latest findings from science, research or nature every Sunday. Producer and presenter Hendrik Hey and his team prepare the most difficult relationships in an interesting, understandable and entertaining way.
Children’s programming
A genuine full-service channel includes a children’s strand. The children’s programme “Pokito”, which RTL II broadcasts Monday to Friday from 12:40 to 16:00, impresses with a mixture of popular perennial favourites and exclusive premieres of high-quality animated series. The top favourites among younger viewers include: “Naruto” (up to 26.1 % MA among 3- to 13-year-olds), “Pokémon” (up to 32.0 % MA, ages 3-13), “Yu-Gi-Oh! GX” (up to 27.6 % MA, ages 3-13), as well as “Viva Piñata” and “Team Galaxy”. The RTL II children’s magazine “Pokito TV” also delights with excellent figures (up to 21.1 % MA, ages 3-13).
