RTL Lëtzebuerg is the main
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
channel in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
, broadcasting in
Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
The language is standardized and officiall ...
. It is part of
RTL Group
RTL Group S.A. ("Radio Télévision Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate office in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 56 television channels and 36 radio stations in Germany, France an ...
.
History

The small television market in Luxembourg led to a unique system in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
: Luxembourg was the only country in the world in which television stations were operated in both the
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
and
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM (, ''Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire'', French for ''sequential colour memory''), is an analog color television system that was used in France, Russia and some other countries or territories of Europe and Africa. ...
formats. Originally, both channels carried the same signal, Tele Luxembourg. Later, the signals were split in the two independent stations
RTL-TVI
RTL-TVI is a private French-language, Belgian-based television station owned by DPG Media and Groupe Rossel, it was originally owned by the RTL Group until 31 March 2022. Until 2022, it was broadcast with a Luxembourgish licence, but the new ...
(PAL, system G, on channel 27, the "i" stand for independent), targeting the French-speaking part of
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, and
RTL Télévision (SECAM, system L, on channel 21), targeting
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Both stations initially continued to carry a lot of the same programming, with regards to foreign series and movies, but produced news and game shows for their target audience.
As restrictions on operating commercial television stations in Europe were relaxed in the mid-1980s, RTL-TVI moved entirely to
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, while the popularity of RTL Télévision was somewhat diminished by the success of
M6. RTL Télévision was renamed
RTL9
RTL9 is a French-language Luxembourgish television channel shown in Luxembourg, France, Monaco, Africa and the French-speaking regions of Switzerland.
History of the channel
Télé-Luxembourg
On 1 July 1954, CLR (Compagnie Luxembourgeoise ...
and, even though its original terrestrial frequency in Luxembourg remains, it is now primarily a cable station for France.
In 1984,
German language
German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...
RTL Plus (now
RTL Television
RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by RTL Deutschland, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is cons ...
) was added on channel E7 (PAL-B).
All these stations carried a program in Luxembourgish, called . The main purpose was to show these stations were essentially broadcasters from Luxembourg and not aiming to be commercial stations in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. When the stations were licensed in their intended broadcasting regions, this program was dropped.
Today, RTL Lëtzebuerg carries entertainment, magazine and news in Luxembourgish. Outside broadcasting hours, a live camera from the radio studio is broadcast, along with text news and traffic cameras. Programs from
RTL Shop in French and sometimes German are broadcast a few hours a day, mostly in the morning.
For a few years the station's only competitor was
Tango TV, operated by
Tele2
Tele2 AB is a provider of mobile and fixed connectivity, telephony, data network services, TV, streaming and global Internet of things services, amongst others, to consumers and enterprises. It is headquartered in Kista Science City, Stockholm, ...
from 2002 to 2007. Its main competitors in 2012 are
Eldo TV and
Den Oppener Kanal (.dok). All other TV stations in Luxembourg only broadcast on a local level (
Nordliicht TV in the north or
Uelzecht Kanal in the south of the country). RTL also has a second channel, RTL Zwee, with mostly reruns and live sports programmes.
Broadcast
Viewers in Luxembourg can also tune into
RTL 4
RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free TV channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with infotainment, televi ...
(channel 41),
RTL 5
RTL 5 is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that was launched on 2 October 1993, during the 4th anniversary of its sister channel. It mainly broadcasts American films and hit series but also reality shows, comedy, travel, international show ...
,
RTL 7
RTL 7 is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable television channel that was launched as ''Veronica'' on 1 September 1995. RTL 7 is RTL Nederland's "men's channel" with action films, reality television about crime and professions, Association footbal ...
and
RTL 8
RTL 8 is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that was launched on 18 August 2007 replacing Tien, previously known as Talpa. RTL 8's main target audience consists of women. It broadcasts soap operas, talk shows, films and reruns of programm ...
, which are intended for the
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
market. Since all these stations have their television licences in Luxembourg, they are available as terrestrial channels. Like television channels in the Netherlands, they show all foreign programming in the original language with
subtitles
Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, caption ...
, rather than
dubbed.
Since the switch to
digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...
which was implemented overnight on 1 September 2006, RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg and
RTL Zwee share channel 27,
M6 is on channel 7, and
RTL-TVI
RTL-TVI is a private French-language, Belgian-based television station owned by DPG Media and Groupe Rossel, it was originally owned by the RTL Group until 31 March 2022. Until 2022, it was broadcast with a Luxembourgish licence, but the new ...
,
Club RTL
RTL Club is a French-language Belgian television channel based in Brussels and owned by DPG Media and Groupe Rossel, it was originally owned by RTL Group until 31 March 2022. The channel is transmitted in Belgium and Luxembourg.
The channel ...
,
Plug RTL, & RTL 4, 5, 7, & 8 are on channel 24.
Timeline
References
External links
RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg
{{DEFAULTSORT:RTL Tele Letzebuerg
RTL Group
European Broadcasting Union members
Luxembourgish-language mass media
Television networks in Luxembourg
Television channels and stations established in 1991
Television in Luxembourg
1991 establishments in Luxembourg