Observed Signal · Sep 26, 2026 · Policy Update · Source: DWDL · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Negative
German TV Stations Rely on Repetition and AI in Daytime
German private broadcasters like Sat.1, RTL, ProSieben, and Vox are shifting their daytime TV schedules to rely heavily on reruns of court shows, scripted reality, and old US series, which yield strong market shares at minimal cost. RTL has announced it will stop producing the long-running daily soap 'Unter uns' after 32 years. In a cost-cutting move, RTL has also begun generating new episodes of its court show 'Ulrich Wetzel – Das Strafgericht' using artificial intelligence, creating new storylines and characters from existing material. Public broadcasters are also trimming daytime budgets, with MDR cancelling its magazine 'MDR um zwei'. The trend indicates a broader industry move towards using archives and AI to produce cost-efficient daytime programming, potentially extending this model to other dayparts.
The article highlights a structural shift in German TV towards low-cost reruns and AI-generated content, which could impact the advertising industry's reach and effectiveness in daytime slots, but it is not a major industry-shaking event.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Sat.1 airs five hours of 'Richter Alexander Hold' reruns on weekdays, achieving double-digit market shares.
- RTL will stop producing the daily soap 'Unter uns' after 32 years.
- RTL aired episodes of 'Ulrich Wetzel – Das Strafgericht' with AI-generated characters and storylines in September.
- MDR plans to cancel its magazine 'MDR um zwei' at the end of the year.
- RTL filled its Saturday night with 'Harry Potter' movie reruns to boost ratings at low cost.
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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Sat.1 leans on retro shows for evening schedule
German broadcaster Sat.1 has been broadly repeating the discontinued court show 'Richter Alexander Hold' in daytime for about six months, drawing peak audiences near 700,000 viewers. The success of repeats has prompted discussions at ProSiebenSat.1 about reviving older formats for the early evening slot: limited new episodes of 'Richter Alexander Hold' are plausible, and production of a revived 'Deal or No Deal' with Jörg Pilawa will begin in Cologne mid-September with 18 double-recordings. DWDL.de also reports internal consideration of bringing back the game show 'Glücksrad' following the strong Italian revival on Canale 5. Sat.1 and Joyn say scheduling decisions (including 'Landarztpraxis') will be announced in due course.
RTL to Air AI-Generated Court Show Episodes Next Week
German broadcaster RTL, in collaboration with Constantin Entertainment, has begun airing five AI-reworked episodes of its court show 'Ulrich Wetzel - Das Strafgericht' in the afternoon slot (15:55-17:00), starting this week. The episodes use generative AI—including image editing, speech synthesis, and lip-sync adjustments—to alter plots, dialogue, and character relationships (e.g., changing a mother-son to siblings, gender-swapping a lead). RTL frames this as a practical pilot to explore AI's creative potential and gather experience under real production conditions, while emphasizing human editorial control and quality checks. However, the broadcaster did not label the AI use in linear TV broadcasts (only RTL+ streams include a credits note), prompting criticism from regulators. The state media authority NLM deems labeling 'consequential' under the EU AI Act, which requires appropriate disclosure for fictional works. RTL targets generating over €150 million in value through AI by 2030.
ZDF's Stealthy Cost-Cutting in Early Evening
ZDF is gradually reducing the number of new episodes of its high‑reach early-evening crime series and filling more slots with repeats to free budget for productions aimed at younger audiences. DWDL reports the changes are driven by stagnating licence‑fee income and the broadcaster’s need to justify the fee to younger viewers. Specific reductions include lower season counts for several SOKO spin-offs and other long-running formats, while the reach and market shares of repeats remain similar enough to first runs that audience figures and ad value have so far held up. The article notes this strategy eases short-term budget pressure but hurts independent production partners that rely on commission volume.
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