Observed Signal · Oct 16, 2026 · Policy Update · Source: DWDL · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Negative
RTLzwei moves 'Love Island VIP' to late night slot
German broadcaster RTLzwei is moving the reality show 'Love Island VIP' from its 20:15 prime time slot to a late-night slot on Wednesdays at 22:15 starting October 22. The move follows disappointing linear ratings, with only 150,000 viewers tuning in this week and market shares of 1.9% and 2.6% among 14-49 year-olds. The show, produced by ITV Studios Germany, has been successful on the RTL+ streaming platform but underperformed on linear TV. RTLzwei is replacing it with the classic docu-soap 'Zuhause im Glück'. Other affected shows include 'Maison Tabou' (now after midnight) and 'Stranger Sins' (now at 1:30). This decision aligns with RTLzwei's strategy to plan streaming and linear programming independently, as articulated by managing director Thorsten Braun. The move reflects a broader trend of separating content performance across distribution channels.
Shows shift in linear TV scheduling strategy for RTLzwei, but it is a niche reality show move with limited industry-wide impact.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- 'Love Island VIP' moves from 20:15 to 22:15 on Wednesdays starting October 22.
- Only 150,000 viewers watched the show this week in linear TV.
- Market shares among 14-49 year-olds were 1.9% and 2.6%.
- Show is produced by ITV Studios Germany.
- RTLzwei replaces it with 'Zuhause im Glück' at 20:15.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mapped“RTLzwei is responding to disappointing linear ratings for 'Love Island VIP' and has decided to no longer broadcast the reality show at 20:15...”
“While 'Love Island VIP' performs successfully in streaming on RTL+, its linear performance fell short.”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
RTLzwei Moves 'Bella Italia' to Wednesday Primetime
RTLzwei will return the camping-format series "Bella Italia - Camping auf Deutsch" with a new season beginning 22 July 2026. The broadcaster moved the show to a new slot: Wednesdays at 20:15, replacing its previous Monday primetime position; the channel is currently airing repeats of the format. The series follows German campers at Marina di Venezia and features returning participants (e.g., Nicole and Sascha Fingerhuth) and new families (Family Nawrot). Produced by Storyhouse (Story House Productions), the show averaged nearly 0.5 million viewers in its last season with a 4.8% market share among 14–49-year-olds. Repeats have performed weakly against World Cup programming, but the new episodes will air after the tournament concludes.
RTLzwei makes sudden TV schedule change
RTLzwei has pulled its celebrity game show 'Dinge gibt's' from the schedule early due to weak ratings, marking the second time the broadcaster has ended the show's season prematurely. The program, hosted by Panagiota Petridou and produced by the Hamburg production company Fernsehmacher, delivered market shares below 2% in the target demo over the past two weeks. As a result, RTLzwei moved the 'Glücksrad' revival (hosted by Guido Cantz and Sonya Kraus) into the vacated 21:15 slot, delayed its planned Thursday 20:15 launch, and will air repeats of 'Genial daneben' at the start of the evening for the next two weeks.
RTLZwei Reveals 2026/27 Reality and Documentary Slate
RTLZwei announced a major programming investment for the 2026/27 TV season, committing to 17 new seasons of established formats, at least eight new program brands, more than 1,000 new episodes and an expansion of its feature-film offering by over 500 titles. The broadcaster is prioritizing reality formats, documentary and reportages, and new storytelling forms for streaming. Highlighted new and returning shows include the dating format "Maison Tabou" (autumn 2026), a "#CoupleChallenge – Halloween Special", new seasons of "Love Island VIP" and "Der Promihof", a vertical-drama spin-off of "Berlin – Tag & Nacht", and several documentary series such as the six-part "Ackern auf der Alp", "Wildes Leben – Im Zoo ist die Hölle los" (produced by Vincent Productions), and the society-focused "Auf Wiedersehen Leben". RTLZwei frames the slate as part of a strategy to expand its position as a "Home of Reality" and to exploit content across platforms.
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