RTL Zwei (stylised as RTLZWEI), formerly spelled RTL 2 and RTL II, is a German-language television channel that is operated by ''RTL2 Television
GmbH & Co. KG''. RTL2 is a private television broadcaster with a
full program ''(Vollprogramm)'' according to the
Interstate Broadcasting Agreement
The ( en, Interstate Broadcasting Agreement), abbreviated as , is the nationwide law for radio station and television licensing in the Federal Republic of Germany. Based on the (sovereignty of the German states in terms of cultural aspects) i ...
''(Rundfunkstaatsvertrag)''. For Austria and Switzerland, variants of the main programme are produced with nationally inserted advertising islands; these variants can be received via the cable networks in these two countries as well as via digital satellite. RTL Zwei is the second subsidiary of
RTL Group
RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France an ...
in Germany.
History
On 26 September 1992, RTL II was scheduled to begin broadcasting; select programming guides were anticipating the channel's launch during that time. However, the channel's launch was delayed until 1993 because LPR Hessen (known as the ''Hessische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk'') repeatedly raised concerns about the channel's shareholder structure to the German media authorities. The shares of the channel's initial owners (RTL Television, CLT, Bertelsmann, Burda and FAZ) had to be reduced to below 25% before the licence for the channel could be awarded to RTL.
[Infosat No. 61 (April 1993). "RTL II sendet!", pp. 10.] The channel eventually started broadcasting on 6 March 1993 at 6:09 a.m., replacing
Screensport
Screensport was a pan-European cable and satellite sports television network that was on air from 1984 until 1993 before merging with Eurosport.
History 1984–1986: Early years
Screensport was founded in 1981 by Bob Kennedy — who had sta ...
(which ceased operations five days earlier due to its merger with
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territories, ...
) on the
Astra satellite
Astra 1A was the first satellite launched and operated by SES (Société Européenne des Satellites), launched in December 1988. During its early days, it was often referred to as the Astra Satellite, as SES only operated one satellite original ...
service. The first programme on the channel was the movie ''Ein reizender Fratz''.
In 2000, RTL II began broadcasting the shows ''
Popstars
''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...
'' and ''
Big Brother''; ''Popstars'' ran on the channel for two seasons before it was moved to
ProSieben, while ''Big Brother'' continued to air until 2011.
The network began offering a
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
service in February 2012.
As of 7 October 2019, the channel was rebranded as ''RTLZWEI''. The number ''2'' is written out for the first time in the station's history. The design was developed in cooperation with the agency ''mehappy GmbH''.
Visual identity (logos)
RTL_2_bis_1996.svg, Logo of RTL 2 from 6 March 1993 to 6 April 1996; similar to the logo used by KGAN
KGAN (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of CBS and Fox. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to Dabl affiliate KFXA (cha ...
/ Cedar Rapids from 1993 to 2004
Logo rtl2.svg, Logo of RTL 2 from 6 April 1996 to 1999
Rtl2 logo 2002.svg, The first version of the channel's circular "II" logo was used from 1999 to 2002.
RTL-II-Logo.svg, Updated version of 1999 logo; used from 2002 to 2009
RTL-II-Logo ab Sommer 2009.svg, Logo of RTL II from 2015 to 2019
Ownership
The channel is operated by RTL2 TV
GmbH & Co. KG, which was founded in 1992 and employs approximately 210 people. Since June 2014 its Managing Director has been Andreas Bartl. The company was originally headquartered in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, but is now run in the municipality of
Grünwald, to the south of Munich; only its news department is still based in Cologne, in order to share the production facilities of RTL news. The company is jointly owned by:
RTL Group
RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France an ...
S.A. (35.9%),
Bauer Media Group
Heinrich Bauer Publishing (german: Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG), trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 r ...
(31.5%),
Tele-Munich Television Media Participation LP (31.5%, of which the
Leonine Holding
Leonine Holding GmbH, LLC, formerly Tele München Group, LLC (German: Tele München Gruppe; TMG), is a media company based in Munich.
The activities of Leonine include trade in licenses, investments in television and radio stations and distributi ...
and
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
hold 50% each).
and
Hubert Burda Media (1.1%)
Programming
Programming pillars are daily episodes of the local ''
Big Brother'' in access
prime-time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
, and a prime-time lineup consisting mostly of "docu-soaps", movies and licensed series such as ''
24'' and ''
Stargate SG-1
''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...
''. Recent efforts to move further towards quality programming with science magazines and documentaries have met with an indifferent audience response.
The channel's prime-time newscast ''RTL II News'' is frequently criticized for its selection of news stories, which are seen to cater to a young audience; for example, it has been known to put a CD release or the launch of a new gaming console in the second headline slot directly after the day's top event. This unconventional approach has brought RTL II's broadcasting licence into jeopardy at least once, as a German
commercial broadcaster
Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...
has to feature minimum amounts of serious informational and cultural programming to be allowed a full channel licence. In addition to its own newscast formats (''RTL II News'', ''RTL II Spezial. Das Magazin'' and ''Das Nachrichtenjournal''), the channel commissions independent producers to create its own productions, which it airs in the afternoons.
Afternoon programming
In the afternoon, the channel now primarily features its own docu soap and reality show productions.
Prime-time
Among its prime-time line-up the channel's own docu soap productions such as ''Die Geissens – Eine schrecklich glamouröse Familie'' and ''Frauentausch'' are particularly successful. Various US shows such as ''
Game of Thrones'' and ''
The Walking Dead'' have been, and continue to be, the most successful series of RTL II's prime-time slot. Its late-night line-up also features North American series such as ''Autopsy – Mysteriöse Todesfälle'' and ''Flashpoint''.
Anime and children's programming
RTL II has offered the largest
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
content of all free-to-air German-language TV channels. It aired about over 80 Anime series since the channel and also broadcast cartoons. On weekdays, RTL II also airs an anime afternoon under their children/youth banner "Pokito". Following tensions with media authorities, RTL II's
standards and practices department is believed to be especially sensitive about children's programming. As a consequence, the channel has cut scenes in anime series like
Detective Conan
''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its cha ...
,
InuYasha
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...
,
One Piece
''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual cha ...
and
Naruto
''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...
, for which it has received criticism from anime fans. Even some episodes where the original version had previously been given a
FSK 6 rating, meaning that it is suitable for children ages 6 up and may legally be aired at all hours of the day, have been edited down. In February 2013, RTL II announced that its Sunday morning children's programme would be discontinued as of 21 April 2013. A separate and short-lived online channel for anime was launched in April.
German premieres
RTL II was the first channel to introduce various foreign TV formats on German television such as:
*''The Final Countdown'': a show aired at the start of the new millennium lasting 24 hours and showing celebrations in various locations all over the world.
*''
Popstars
''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...
'' in 2000 was the first casting show aired on German television.
*''Jack Point Jack'' in 2003 was the first interactive movie on German television.
*Bollywood movies: On 19 November 2004 RTL II aired Sometimes happiness, sometimes sadness (German: In guten wie in schweren Tagen - original title: Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham), the first dubbed Bollywood movie on German television, and achieved an audience share of over 12.3% among the target group of 14- to 49-year-olds. Due to its great success Indian movies have been regularly aired on the channel ever since. Previously, Bollywood movies had been broadcast in Hindi with German subtitles on ARTE and VOX.
Audience share
Germany
The average age of the viewers is 43.5 years (as of 2016).
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rtl Ii
Television stations in Germany
Television stations in Austria
Television stations in Switzerland
RTL Group
Television channels and stations established in 1993
Mass media in Munich