Kabel Eins vs RTL Deutschland

ZDFneo Hits Ratings Highs with Hollywood Films

ZDFneo achieved strong television ratings on Saturday evening, driven by a lineup of Hollywood films including two 'Men in Black' movies and 'Hancock'. The channel reached a daily market share of 4.0 percent among viewers aged 14-49, outperforming Kabel Eins and RTLzwei. The movie 'Men in Black' at 20:15 drew 180,000 young viewers (4.9% market share), followed by 'Men in Black 3' with a 5.1% share. 'Hancock' later held 380,000 viewers, with 7.5% market share in the younger demographic. Earlier in the day, 'Terra X' documentaries and the science show 'Maithink X' also performed well. The 'Tatort' repeat on WDR also attracted 700,000 viewers. All data is based on AGF Videoforschung.

• ZDFneo achieved a daily market share of 4.0% among viewers aged 14-49 on Saturday.
• 'Men in Black' at 20:15 reached 180,000 young viewers (4.9% market share).
• 'Men in Black 3' followed with 5.1% market share among young viewers.

Promi BB Ratings Solid Despite Drop; TV Total Wins

On the second day of the new season, Sat.1's 'Promi Big Brother' experienced a decline in viewership across all key demographics, yet market shares remained solid. Total audience fell from 1.26 million on the premiere to 1.11 million, while the 14-49 demographic share dropped to 12.3%. The late-night spin-off and livestream also saw strong figures. Meanwhile, ProSieben's 'TV Total' led among younger audiences with a 13.4% share in the 14-49 group, although slightly down from previous weeks. The following show, 'Experte für alles' with Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, struggled, dropping to 260,000 total viewers and a 5.5% share, failing to retain the audience. Vox's 'Die Welpen kommen' hit a new low, while Kabel Eins's 'Terminator 2' performed modestly.

• Sat.1's 'Promi Big Brother' lost viewers on day two, dropping from 1.26M to 1.11M total, but 14-49 share was 12.3%.
• ProSieben's 'TV Total' won primetime among young viewers with 13.4% share (14-49) and 920,000 total viewers.
• Follow-up show 'Experte für alles' fell to 260,000 total viewers and 5.5% share (14-49).

Sat.1 Launches Business Interview Series with Linda Zervakis

Sat.1 has announced a new interview series, "Quick-Check Wirtschaft", hosted by Linda Zervakis. Starting October 17, she will interview a business executive weekly on economic topics. Each episode is limited to ten minutes. The initial run consists of six episodes, airing Saturdays at 11:50 AM on Sat.1 after the "Sat.1 Frühstücksfernsehen am Samstag". The interviews will also be shown on Kabel Eins on Sundays at 4:05 PM and be available on-demand on Joyn. The series is produced by RedSeven Entertainment. The first guest is Philipp Schröder, CEO of energy provider 1komma5Grad, discussing innovation in Germany. Other planned guests include executives from Raisin, Renault Deutschland, Frosta, dm, and Oviva.

Sky increases ad pressure further, appears on RTL channels

Sky, the German pay-TV provider owned by RTL Deutschland, has further intensified its advertising activities. In the week of October 12-18, 2026, Sky aired 8,703 TV spots in German broadcasters' ad breaks, mostly on its own channels, achieving 542 XRP (Exact Rating Points). Since RTL's takeover, Sky also advertises on RTL channels (more than 3% of spots, nearly 300 spots). However, cross-promotion does not work the other way: no RTL spot was placed on Sky channels. Overall, Sky has aired nearly 290,000 spots so far this year, roughly 1,000 per day. On large channels like Sky Bundesliga 1 or Sky Sport 1, big advertisers include DFL, Volkswagen, Dell, Trade Republic, and Ikea. During a non-race weekend, Sky Sport F1 only showed two Qatar Airways spots plus 649 self-promos. The data source is All Eyes On Screens (formerly AdScanner), which measures reach in Vodafone households.

• Sky aired 8,703 TV spots in German TV ad breaks during the week of Oct 12-18, 2026, achieving 542 XRP in gross reach.
• More than 3% of Sky's spots (nearly 300) aired on RTL channels (RTL, Vox, Super RTL, Nitro, ntv, RTLup, Voxup, RTLzwei).
• No RTL spot was aired on Sky channels in the same week.

Frank Vogel on Next Level of Targeting at Ad Alliance

The article is an interview with Frank Vogel, CEO of Ad Alliance, about the company's future targeting strategies. Ad Alliance plans to use AI to enable emotional targeting, serving ads based on viewers' emotional states. Additionally, a convergent ad server is being developed to jointly deliver linear TV and Connected TV ads in real time. Following the acquisition of Sky Deutschland, Ad Alliance aims to leverage increased reach and technology to compete with global platforms like Google and Meta. The German TV advertising market is under pressure, and Ad Alliance's revenues have declined recently, so data, technology, and integration are key focuses.

• Ad Alliance plans to enable emotional targeting using AI.
• Ad Alliance is developing a convergent ad server for linear TV and Connected TV in real time.
• Ad Alliance acquired Sky Deutschland, increasing its reach.

ZDF appoints Tim Armann to Besseresser team

Sebastian Lege, the long-time face of ZDF's food format "Besseresser," is leaving ZDF after 13 years and will join RTL Deutschland exclusively. ZDF confirmed the change to T‑Online. To continue the "Besseresser" brand, ZDF is making Tim Armann a permanent member of the on‑camera team; Armann previously appeared in four episodes on the show's YouTube channel. Tim Armann is a trained chef and a prominent food creator with over half a million Instagram followers on the account "brot.mit.ei." Other existing on‑screen contributors to the format include Florian Reza, Lilly Temme and Nelson Müller.

• Sebastian Lege is leaving ZDF after 13 years and will join RTL Deutschland exclusively.
• ZDF confirmed the staffing change to T‑Online.
• Tim Armann will join the "Besseresser" on‑camera team on a permanent basis.