 | |
| Country | Croatia |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Zagreb |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | RTL Hrvatska (CME) |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | 30 April 2004; 21 years ago (2004-04-30) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| OiV | MUX M1 |
| Streaming media | |
| Affiliated Streaming Service | Voyo |
RTL (previously known asRTL Televizija) is aCroatianfree-to-airtelevision network founded on 30 April 2004. It was owned by theRTL Group from 2004 to 2022.[1] Since 1 June 2022, it is owned by theCME Group.[2] It is the second commercial television network in Croatia that has a national concession, followingNova TV.
In 2003, the Croatian government opted to privatize theHRT 3 frequency. In June 2003, five companies were interested: RTL Group, News Corporation, SBS Broadcasting, HMTM and CME. A final decision was expected by 1 October.[3]
RTL began broadcasting on 30 April 2004 at 18:45CET.[4] The first broadcast of RTL'snews program,RTL Vijesti, was hosted that day by Tomislav Jelinčić and Tanja Tomić.[5] At the time of its launch, RTL was operated from one office which contained only 10 computers and 10 employees. Throughout the years, the network grew into a multi-medial platform with over 300 employees.[4]
On 15 May 2014, RTL Group announced that Henning Tewes, managing director of news provider Enex, would be appointedchief executive officer (CEO) of RTL Hrvatska from 1 July 2014. Tewes succeeded Johannes Züll, who left the RTL Group to become president and CEO of Studio Hamburg. Following a proposal from Tewes, Ivan Lovreček, former editor-in-chief and member of the executive board of RTL Hrvatska, was promoted to deputy CEO of the company on 1 July 2014.[6]
The blocks got a three-dimensional design on 16 September 2015. Mein RTL would be used in some idents.
On 12 November 2019, as part of a nationwide transition to the DVB-T2 broadcast standard among all Croatian broadcasters, the channel including withRTL 2,RTL Kockica, RTL Passion, RTL Living, and RTL Crime launched their HD feeds.[7] A month later, on 20 December 2019, RTL debuted a new flat logo and graphics package that replaced the Phoenica font (used by RTL's parent channel in its on-air appearance) with the well-known FF DIN font. At this point, its slogan was "Više od Televizije" (English:More than Television).[8]
On 15 September 2021, the German version ofRTL was relaunched with a new multi-colored logo. It was confirmed that the new logo would debut in Croatia sometime in the near future, however this has not happened as of 2024.
On 14 February 2022, it was announced that RTL Group reached an agreement withCentral European Media Enterprises for the sale of RTL Hrvatska. On 1 June 2022, the transaction of RTL Hrvatska to CME had been completed.[2]
The channel celebrated 20 years of existence through April and May 2024, featuring newident bumpers with taglines such as "20 years of originality", "20 years ahead of everyone" and "20 years of changing lives." The bumpers featured RTL's most prominent television personalities, such as the news' and other program's hosts. A special two-part series titled20 godina zajedno (transl.20 Years Together) aired on 4 and 5 May.[9] Hosted byAntonija Blaće, the special series looked back on the most memorable moments in RTL's history.[9]
On 28 April 2025, RTL announced that itsteletext service would be shut down on 1 May of the same year.[10]
Along withHRT andNova TV, RTL is one of the three networks that air the largest amount of original television programming in Croatia. In recent years, the channel usually slots original series during the week in the evening, from around 17:00 CET, with the network's major shows airing in the prime time (20:15 to 22:00 CET). Earlier parts of the day are usually reserved for acquired programming and for re-runs of the shows from the previous day.[11]
RTL broadcasts its own news program daily. Currently, the main news program titledRTL Danas (transl.RTL Today) airs its short news program at 16:30 CET every day excluding Friday, followed by the main news program airing daily from 19:00 to 20:15 CET.RTL Danas, which was previously known asRTL Vijesti (transl.RTL News), covers the most prominent political, cultural and other news of the day that are relevant in Croatia and in the world.[12]
As of April 2015, a 30-minute late-night news program titledRTL Direkt airs Monday to Thursday, usually around 22:15 CET.[13] AlthoughDirekt mostly recaps political and other events featured inRTL Danas, it also focuses on coveringpopular culture, an example being a special episode aired 13 May 2024 which was dedicated to the review of the2024 Eurovision Song Contest.[14]Direkt usually features guests, varying from political persons, celebrities, experts in certain fields and other notable people. Its current host is Mojmira Pastorčić, who replaced Zoran Šprajc in 2022.[15]
RTL is known forZabranjena ljubav, the first Croatian soap opera. It premiered in 2004 and aired over 800 episodes.[16] RTL also aired various original drama and comedy series through the years.
A large chunk of RTL's original programming consists ofreality series, which are mostly Croatian adaptations of foreign reality show formats. In September 2004, RTL began airingBig Brother, its first reality series. The finale of the first season reached a record audience of 1.8 million viewers.[17] The series went on to air seven seasons, concluding in May 2018.
The channel aired various dating reality series, the first beingScrolovka in 2004.Ljubav je na selu (transl.Love is at the Countryside), a Croatian iteration ofFarmer Wants a Wife, premiered in September 2008, and is one of the longest-running Croatian reality series, having entered its seventeenth season in May 2024.[18] RTL also aired Croatian iterations of other popular dating series such asBrak na prvu (Married at First Sight) andGospodin Savršeni (The Bachelor).[19]
Cooking and food-related reality series are also a part of RTL's staple programming.Večera za 5 (transl.Dinner for Five, based onCome Dine with Me), has been on air since 2007. The series was re-branded asVečera za 5 na selu (transl.Dinner for Five at the Countryside) from 2019 to 2022 until returning to its original title in 2023. It is the longest-running Croatian culinary series.[20] In 2013, RTL aired an original cooking reality series format titledTri, dva jedan - peci! (transl.Three, two, one - bake!), and later its spin-offTri, dva jedan - kuhaj! (transl.Three, two, one - cook!), which premiered in 2014. Croatian versions ofRamsay's Kitchen Nightmares andHell's Kitchen were also aired by the channel.
A part of the channel's programming has also been dedicated to talent-show singing reality series.Hrvatska traži zvijezdu (transl.Croatia's Star Search), was the second Croatian iteration ofIdol, followingNova TV's 2004Hrvatski Idol. It aired three seasons from 2009 to 2011. A reboot of the series titledSuperstar premiered on RTL in September 2023.[21]
| † | Currently airing series |
| # | Series no longer in production |
| ‡ | Upcoming season or series announced |
| ⁂ | Status of series unknown |
| Name | Based on | Host(s) | No. of seasons | Premiere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Brother# | Big Brother |
| 7 | 18 September 2004 (2004-09-18) |
| Mjenjačnica# | Original format |
| 2 | 12 January 2005 (2005-01-12) |
| Dvornikovi# | Original format | – | 2 | 4 January 2006 (2006-01-04) |
| Mijenjam ženu# | Wife Swap | – | Unknown | 2006 (2006) |
| Koledžicom po svijetu# | Original format |
| 2 | 15 March 2007 (2007-03-15) |
| Večera za 5† | Come Dine With Me | – | 17 | 14 May 2007 (2007-05-14) |
| Hrvatski Top Model# | America's Next Top Model | 2 | 3 March 2008 (2008-03-03) | |
| Punom parom# | Original format | – | 1 | 2008 (2008) |
| Ljubav je na selu‡ | Farmer Wants a Wife | 17 | 4 September 2008 (2008-09-04) | |
| Hrvatska traži zvijezdu# | Idol |
| 3 | 17 April 2009 (2009-04-17) |
| Najveći hrvatski misterij# | Original format |
| 1 | 8 September 2009 (2009-09-08) |
| Jezikova juha# | Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares | 4 | 15 October 2009 (2009-10-15) | |
| Survivor: Kostarika# | Survivor |
| 1 | 12 March 2012 (2012-03-12) |
| Tri, dva, jedan – peci!# | Original format |
| 4 | 9 December 2013 (2013-12-09) |
| Tri, dva, jedan – kuhaj!# | Original format |
| 9 | 24 March 2014 (2014-03-24) |
| Shopping kraljica# | Shopping Monsters | 3 | 16 March 2015 (2015-03-16) | |
| Zvjezdice# | Pinkove Zvezdice | 3 | 12 September 2015 (2015-09-12) | |
| Život na vagi† | The Biggest Loser | 9 | 27 March 2017 (2017-03-27) | |
| RTL Zvijezde# | Pinkove Zvezde | 3 | 8 May 2017 (2017-05-08) | |
| Gospodin Savršeni‡ | The Bachelor |
| 4 | 19 November 2018 (2018-11-19) |
| Superpar# | Power Couple | 4 | 23 March 2019 (2019-03-23) | |
| Brak na prvu⁂ | Married at First Sight | – | 4 | 16 March 2020 (2020-03-16) |
| Masked Singer# | Masked Singer | 2 | 2 April 2022 (2022-04-02) | |
| Pet spojeva tjedno# | Five Guys a Week | – | 1 | 21 November 2022 (2022-11-21) |
| Superstar# | Idol |
| 2 | 23 September 2023 (2023-09-23) |
| Hell's Kitchen Hrvatska# | Hell's Kitchen |
| 1 | 31 January 2024 (2024-01-31) |
| Farma# | The Farm | 1[a] | 26 May 2025[b][22] | |
| The Traitors‡ | The Traitors | TBA | ||
The channel mostly acquires English-language programming, as well as a smaller chunk of regional (Serbian or Slovene) programming. Throughout late 2000s and early 2010s, RTL aired popularAmericansitcoms such asFamily Matters (1989–1998),Full House (1987–1994),How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014),Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2005),Step by Step (1991–1997), andThe Nanny (1993–1998).[25] During this period,Spanish-language telenovelas were also popular on the channel, includingDame Chocolate (2007) andEl Rostro de Analía (2008–2009), untilTurkish series such asMuhteşem Yüzyıl (2011–2014) took over in the early 2010s.[26] Most of such programs were moved toRTL 2 after its launch in 2011, and later to RTL Passion.Serbian series that aired on the channel includeJužni vetar (2022) andToma (2023–2024).
Before launchingRTL Kockica in 2014, the channel also focused on programming for children, airing animated series every day in the morning. Croatian dubs of series such asBen 10 (2005–2008),Dexter's Laboratory (1995–2003),PopPixie (2011),Strawberry Shortcake (2003), andTrollz (2005) premiered on RTL. The Croatian dub ofSpongeBob SquarePants (2000–) also originally premiered RTL, before the series was moved toNickelodeon with its Croatian-language audio launch in 2011. The channel occasionally featured a programming block titledDisney dan (transl.Disney Day), airing popularDisney movies such asFinding Nemo (2003) andFrozen (2013).[27]
Throughout all of its daily news programs, RTL Televizija has broadcast daily sports news throughout all of its daily news programs. TheCroatian national football team used to broadcast its away matches there between 2004 and 2007. Since 2008,HRT has been broadcasting these matches once again.[citation needed]
RTL Televizija occasionally also broadcastboxing bouts and the highlights of theRed Bull Air Race events. They also bought the TV rights for all the matches of the2009 World Men's Handball Championship, which was held in Croatia. This proved to be a big hit to Croatia's public broadcaster HRT, who even threatened to takelegal action against RTL after they refused to sell them the rights to broadcast the match highlights during their news programs.[28]
| Channel | Launch | Type | Description | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTL 2 | 2 January 2011 | Free-to-air | Entertainment channel dedicated to re-runs of RTL flagship channel's original programming and various acquired programming, such assitcoms. | [29] |
| RTL Kockica | 11 January 2014 | Children's programming. | [30] | |
| RTL Crime | 12 March 2015 | Cable | Crime television series. | [31] |
| RTL Living | Lifestyle television series. The channel also re-runs RTL's news programming. | |||
| RTL Passion | Telenovelas,soap operas, drama and romance television series. | |||
| RTL Croatia World | 11 July 2016 | RTL's news and entertainment programming for audiences outside of Croatia. | [32] | |
| RTL Adria | 24 February 2020 | Entertainment channel. | [33] |
RTL launched itsstreaming service RTL Play on 12 January 2018.[34] It was afree ad-supported service that offered access to RTL's programming, as well as alivestream of RTL's channels. A paid Play Premium option was also available; it featured access to locked content and programming exclusive to the service, such as new episodes of the scripted drama seriesKrv nije voda.[35]
In July 2023, RTL announced that RTL Play was getting replaced withVoyo, a subscription-basedvideo on demandover-the-top service.[36] Voyo launched on 27 August, offering subscribers an access to new episodes of RTL's both original and acquiredtelevision series 24 hours prior to their television broadcast. The service also focuses on offering exclusive acquired programming that has not been broadcast on RTL.
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| Year | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audience share | 7.3% | 6.2% | 5.9% | 5.3% | 5.1% | 4.4% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 3.2% | 4.2% | 4.4% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 6.3% | 7.3% |
| Audience share (target 18–49)[1] | 29.5% | 28.6% | 28.6% | 26.4% | 26.2% | 26.1% | 26.4% | 13.4% | Unknown | ||||||
| Advertising share[37] | 16.3% | 38.4% | 42.9% | Unknown | |||||||||||
Prije točno 20 godina, 30. travnja 2004. godine u 18:45 sati započelo je emitiranje programa RTL-a.[Exactly 20 years ago, on April 30, 2004, at 6:45 p.m., the broadcasting of the RTL program began.]
Lovreček je 2005. promoviran u dnevnog urednika informativnog programa, a 2007. imenovan je glavnim urednikom. Dvije godine kasnije postao je članom Uprave, a u srpnju 2014. zamjenikom predsjednika Uprave RTL Hrvatska.[Lovreček was promoted to daily news editor in 2005, and was appointed editor-in-chief in 2007. Two years later, he became a member of the Management Board, and in July 2014, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of RTL Croatia.]
Upravo zato večeras stiže posebno izdanje Direkta o Eurosongu, jednoj pjesmi i jednom pjevaču koji je osvojio Hrvatsku.[That's why a special edition of Direkt is coming tonight, about one song and one singer that conquered Croatia.]
Najdugovječnija kulinarska emisija i u jedanaestoj će sezoni gledatelje odvesti na ukusno gastro putovanje kroz Hrvatsku.[The longest-running culinary show will take viewers on a delicious gastronomic journey through Croatia in its eleventh season.]
