Observed Signal · May 26, 2026 · Ratings Report · Source: DWDL · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Reality Show and Crime Dramas Challenge Football Ratings
Sat.1 dominated Monday night TV on May 25, 2026, driven by the Bundesliga relegation match, but competing formats delivered strong audience numbers across public and commercial broadcasters. ZDF's repeat of Nord Nord Mord reached 3.33 million viewers (16.0% market share), while ARD's Tatort: Vergebung drew 2.93 million (14.1%) and scored 9.0% in the 14–49 demo. RTL's Bauer sucht Frau International fell to around 2.0 million viewers — an all-time low for the format — but improved to 8.4% among 14–49-year-olds. Other channels (Vox, RTLzwei, Kabel Eins) posted lower overall or demo figures. All viewing data are reported by AGF Videoforschung (AGF SCOPE) and cover TV reach for May 25, 2026.
Routine TV audience ratings for a single day are primarily of operational interest to broadcasters, advertisers and media buyers but do not constitute industry‑shifting news.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Sat.1's Bundesliga relegation broadcast reached 4.61 million viewers and 24.3% market share (highest individual program on May 25, 2026).
- ZDF's repeat of 'Nord Nord Mord' reached 3.33 million viewers and 16.0% market share.
- ARD's 'Tatort: Vergebung' reached 2.93 million viewers and 14.1% market share; it had 9.0% among 14–49-year-olds.
- RTL's 'Bauer sucht Frau International' attracted about 2.0 million viewers (noted as an all‑time low for the format) and reached 8.4% in the 14–49 demographic.
- All audience figures cited are preliminary, weighted AGF Videoforschung data (AGF SCOPE) for TV reach on 2026-05-25.
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Old RTL Crime Repeat Nears Two Million Viewers
A repeat of RTL's crime show "Behringer und die Toten" drew 1.90 million viewers on August 4, 2026, giving RTL a 10.9% primetime market share and placing it ahead of ZDF in total reach. The episode performed less strongly in younger demos (7.7% for ages 14–59; 4.9% for 14–49). ZDF's primetime offerings underperformed in total reach ("Besseresser Challenge" ~1.0 million; 5.7% share), but a later ZDF "Frontal" documentary on the Deutsche Bahn lifted younger-audience numbers (1.62 million total, 9.1% overall; 390,000 viewers 14–49, 14.8% in that demo). The evening's highest single reach was ARD's "Die Kanzlei" (2.74 million) while ZDF's "heute journal" reached 2.48 million. Data source: AGF SCOPE / AGF Videoforschung.
Old ARD Crime Drama Beats DFB-Pokal Ratings
Germany's primetime ratings featured two contrasting evenings. On Friday, 21 August 2026, Das Erste's repeat of 'Der Zürich-Krimi' won with 3.96 million viewers and a 20.9% share, beating ZDF's DFB-Pokal broadcast (2.64 million, 14.5%). The Tagesschau was the night's top program at 4.77 million (26.4%), and Das Erste led the daily market share with 12.8%. On a Tuesday, ZDF's 'Friesland' rerun edged out Das Erste's DFB-Pokal match (Osnabrück vs. Bayern) with 4.66 million (22.2%) to 4.40 million (22.0%), but the football dominated 14- to 49-year-olds with a 27.2% share versus 4.3% for 'Friesland'. ARD's 'Die Derbys' drew just 810,000 viewers, and ZDF's 'Die Lebensretter von Murnau' set a series low of 1.52 million. All data from AGF Videoforschung.
ZDF Strong with Crime Dramas and ZDF Magazin Replay
DWDL reports that ZDF was the second-most-watched broadcaster on Friday (daily market share 14.0%), performing well against FIFA World Cup coverage thanks to crime-series programming and a repeat of ZDF Magazin Royale. AGF Videoforschung data show an old episode of Der Alte reached 3.93 million viewers (21.3% market share), while two SOKO Leipzig episodes drew 2.21 million (11.1%) and 1.99 million (11.0%). A replay of ZDF Magazin Royale after 23:15 had 700,000 viewers (6.4% overall) but performed better in the 14–49 demo (7.4%, ~190,000 viewers), giving ZDF the highest reach among broadcasters except Das Erste after 20:15 in that age group. Commercial broadcasters mainly aired repeats with weaker ratings; RTL’s Die ultimative Chartshow and Vox’s Goodbye Deutschland reached 4.6% and 4.5% in the core demo, while ProSieben’s Free-TV premiere Transformers One scored 1.7%. Data source: AGF SCOPE (preliminary, weighted).
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