Observed Signal · Oct 8, 2026 · Industry Update · Source: DWDL · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
ARD Mediathek tops ZDF, RTL+ grows in September streaming
In September 2026, the ARD Mediathek regained the 100 million monthly streaming hours mark, reaching 106.2 million hours, a 16.1% increase from August. This growth was driven by content like the final season of 'Babylon Berlin' and live football. Meanwhile, the ZDF streaming portal saw only minimal growth of 0.8% to 77.4 million hours, lagging behind ARD and other platforms. RTL+ experienced significant growth of 10.9% overall and 18.8% among 14-49 year-olds, reaching 64.6 million hours. DAZN's streaming hours more than tripled to 14.6 million, likely boosted by Champions League content. In contrast, Wow saw a decline of 5.8% to 8.3 million hours, while Sky grew by 11.8%. Amazon remained the leading platform with 125.8 million hours. The data comes from AGF Videoforschung.
This article provides monthly streaming consumption data for major German streaming platforms, offering insights into the competitive landscape and audience behavior. It is relevant for media planners and advertisers evaluating streaming inventory, but it is not a breaking news event or major strategic announcement.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- ARD Mediathek reached 106.2 million streaming hours in September 2026, up 16.1% from August.
- ZDF streaming portal grew only 0.8% to 77.4 million hours in September 2026.
- RTL+ increased streaming hours by 10.9% overall and 18.8% among 14-49 year-olds.
- DAZN's streaming hours more than tripled to 14.6 million, likely due to Champions League.
- Amazon remained the top platform with 125.8 million streaming hours, up 1.3%.
Connected Companies & Entities
7 Entities mapped“Die ARD-Mediathek eroberte im September die Marke von 100 Millionen gestreamten Stunden zurück....”
“Das ZDF-Streamingportal blieb mit minimalem Wachstum von 0,8 Prozent hinter der ARD zurück....”
“RTL+ konnte im September deutlich zulegen, mit einem Plus von fast elf Prozent insgesamt....”
“Bei DAZN haben sich die Werte auf 14,6 Millionen gestreamte Stunden mehr als verdreifacht....”
“Amazon hielt sich mit deutlichem Vorsprung an der Spitze des Feldes....”
“Joyn legte nur um 3,3 Prozent zu....”
“Sky wuchs um 11,8 Prozent....”
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Amazon Tops ARD and ZDF in Streaming Hours
AGF Videoforschung published convergent measurement data and platform usage figures for July 2026, making cross-platform streaming volumes comparable. By hours streamed, Prime Video led with about 124.2 million hours in July, followed by the ARD Mediathek (≈104.3M) and the ZDF streaming portal (≈96.1M). Among commercial services, RTL+ (≈55.6M hours) outpaced Joyn (≈38.8M hours), though Joyn had a higher cumulative monthly reach. AGF also reported audience metrics for the 14–49 demographic, where Prime Video again led (≈81.0M hours). The dataset covers 01.07.2026–31.07.2026 and is published by AGF (package number: 18188, 21.08.2026). The figures highlight differences between total viewing time (engagement) and net reach (unique viewers).
DAZN Nears Streaming Reach Records; GZSZ Tops Million
AGF Videoforschung data for calendar week 16 (13–19 April 2026) show DAZN achieving near-record streaming reach for live football: the UEFA Champions League stream reached a net streaming reach of 1.658 million (second overall among streaming-only program brands) while Bundesliga streaming reached 1.230 million (fifth). ZDFheute led the streaming-only ranking with 2.019 million. In fiction, ARD's „Praxis mit Meerblick“ (1.113 million) and ARD's „Tatort“ (1.139 million) were strong performers, and RTL's soap Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten (GZSZ) exceeded one million streaming viewers on RTL+ (1.084 million) — a first for that service. The figures and rankings come from AGF SCOPE 1.10 (package number 17527) and were reported by DWDL.de on 2026-04-28.
ZDF Streaming Portal Relaunch Boosts Reach and UX
ZDF reports improved usage and reach one year after a major relaunch of its streaming portal. The broadcaster says viewing volume rose 7% in Q1 2026 (helped by the Olympics) after recovering from an initial dip following the redesign. ZDF and ARD streaming offerings each reach about 61% of Germans aged 14+, and combined TV plus streaming reach around 64 million monthly users for ZDF. Product changes highlighted include a stronger metadata framework and finer content categorization, a redesigned visual interface, and navigation improvements. ZDF remains committed to an ad-free streaming experience, uses partnerships and content licensing (examples: presence on Zattoo; licensing to Netflix and Disney), and is working on closer integration with ARD (including an ARD login integration planned this year). The organisation is exploring AI for production tasks but excludes AI‑generated images in news.
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