Observed Signal · Aug 18, 2026 · Measurement Report · Source: DWDL · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Negative
Prime Video's 'Gladiators' draws low German viewership
Amazon Prime Video's German revival of the gameshow format 'Gladiators' (a co-production with RTL) premiered on August 6 but quickly fell out of Amazon's daily Top 10 and did not appear in AGF's program-brand streaming top-5 for providers. AGF's absence signal implies fewer than 240,000 unique viewers in the first three days after release. By contrast, established titles such as 'Two and a Half Men' led Prime Video with a reported streaming net reach of 1.15 million according to AGF data for the week of Aug 3–9, 2026. The article also reports stronger season starts on other platforms (Joyn, RTL+) and highlights the AGF 'Programmmarke' streaming reach metric as a new data source for cross-platform audience measurement.
Shows underperformance of an Amazon Prime Video content revival in Germany and uses AGF's new 'Programmmarke' streaming reach data—relevant for content partnerships, audience measurement and advertiser planning, but limited in geographic and strategic scope.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- The German adaptation 'Gladiators' (a broadcaster-streamer cooperation with RTL) premiered on August 6, 2026.
- In Amazon's daily Top 10 the format initially reached #5 and then dropped out completely within a few days.
- 'Gladiators' did not appear in AGF's program-brand streaming Top 5 for its provider, implying under 240,000 unique viewers in the first three days.
- AGF reports 'Two and a Half Men' as Prime Video's top streaming program with a net reach of 1.15 million for the week of 03.08.2026–09.08.2026.
- AGF SCOPE 1.16 data (03.08.2026–09.08.2026) is cited as the source for the streaming net reach rankings.
Connected Companies & Entities
8 Entities mapped“In the daily Top 10 published by Amazon, the format initially rose to number 5 and then fell out of the ranking completely within a few days...”
“For the revival of 'Der letzte Bulle' they teamed up with Sat.1; the revival became a success for Sat.1 while the resonance on Prime Video w...”
“Source: AGF Videoforschung; AGF SCOPE 1.16; 03.08.2026–09.08.2026; ... package number: 18164 dated 17.08.2026....”
“On Joyn, 'Villa der Versuchung' reached 0.623 million people in streaming during its launch week....”
“AGF lists 'Tagesschau' (ARD) with a streaming net reach of 1.511 million in the reported week....”
“AGF lists 'ZDFheute' (ZDF) with a streaming net reach of 1.428 million in the reported week....”
“AGF lists 'Welt News' (Axel Springer) with a streaming net reach of 0.315 million in the reported week....”
“On August 6 a new broadcaster–streamer cooperation premiered: 'Gladiators', the German adaptation of 'American Gladiators', in which the pro...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
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Prime Video's German Originals Show Mixed AGF Results
Amazon announced in spring 2024 it would sharply increase German originals for Prime Video. Since Prime Video began participating in AGF audience measurement in November, seven months of AGF data show a mixed picture: some Prime Video productions become major streaming hits in Germany while many fall into the middle range and some fail to appear in AGF rankings. Standouts include Maxton Hall (S2) with >4.6 million starts for episode 1 in Germany and weekly net reach peaks above 2 million, US imports like Off Campus with >4.7 million starts, and the German film Der Tiger with >3 million starts in January. Reality and unscripted formats show varied performance (The 50 peaked ~800k weekly net reach; 7 vs. Wild ~500k). Amazon does not allow AGF to measure its live sports; Amazon-reported data put a PSG–Bayern match at over five million households.
RTL's 'Gladiators' Premiere Fails to Impress in Ratings
RTL's new physical gameshow 'Gladiators - Die Show der Giganten' had a mediocre linear premiere on September 4, 2026. The show attracted only 700,000 viewers, falling below the one million mark. In the key 14-49 demographic, it achieved a 9.2% market share, while in the extended 14-59 target group it reached only 7.0%. This follows a lackluster performance on Prime Video where the show had been available for about a month. The article also mentions that other Friday night shows on Sat.1 and VOX struggled, while ProSieben's movie 'Deadpool' performed relatively better with an 8.3% market share.
German 'Gladiators' Debuts on Prime Video and RTL
A German adaptation of American Gladiators titled "Gladiators - Die Show der Giganten" has been produced by RTL Studios and released on Prime Video, with a four‑week exclusive streaming window before a linear broadcast on RTL beginning 4 September. The format largely follows the original 1990s show—two men and two women compete across physical challenges culminating in the Eliminator—featuring new gladiator character names and a cast unfamiliar from other TV competitions. Presenters Laura Wontorra and Jan Köppen host the show, with Frank Buschmann as commentator. The article highlights strong nostalgia and production scale but criticizes staged lines, parts of the challenger cast and an overall dated tone.
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