RTL Zwei

Country	Germany
Broadcast area	Europe
Affiliates	RTL II You
Headquarters	Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany
Programming
Language(s)	German
Picture format	1080iHDTV (downscaled to16:9576i for theSDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner	RTL Group S.A. Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG Tele-Munich Television Media Participation LP Burda GmbH
Parent	RTL Deutschland
Sister channels	RTL VOX n-tv Super RTL Nitro RTLup VOXup RTL Crime RTL Living RTL Passion GEO Television
History
Launched	6 March 1993; 32 years ago (1993-03-06)
Former names	RTL 2 (1993–1999) RTL II (1999–2019)
Links
Website	rtl2.de
Availability
Terrestrial
Digital terrestrial television	Channel numbers vary in each region

RTL Zwei (stylised as RTLZWEI), formerly spelledRTL 2 andRTL II, is a German-language television channel that is operated byRTL2 TelevisionGmbH & Co. KG. RTL2 is a privategeneral entertainment(Vollprogramm) tv channel on the basis of theInterstate Broadcasting Agreement(Rundfunkstaatsvertrag). Variants of the channel are produced for Austria and Switzerland, with their own advertising. They can be received via cable networks in Austria and Switzerland, and more widely by digital satellite. RTL Zwei is part-owned byRTL Group in Germany.

RTL II was originally scheduled to begin broadcasting on 26 September 1992; some TV guides were anticipating the channel's launch. However, the channel's launch was delayed until 1993 because LPR Hessen (known as theHessische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk) repeatedly raised concerns about the channel's shareholder structure to 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.^[1] The channel eventually started broadcasting on 6 March 1993 at 6:09 a.m., using what used to beScreensport's transponder. (Screensport ceased operations five days earlier as a result of its merger withEurosport) on theAstra satellite service. The first programme on the channel was the movieLittle Miss Marker.

In 2000, RTL II began broadcasting the showsPopstars andBig Brother.Popstars ran on the channel for two seasons before it moved toProSieben, whileBig Brother continued to air until 2011.

The network began offering avideo on demand service in February 2012.^[2]

As of 7 October 2019, the channel was rebranded asRTLZWEI. The number2 was spelt out for the first time in the station's history. The design was developed with the agencymehappy GmbH.^[3]

• 
  RTL 2's logo from 6 March 1993 to 6 April 1996; similar to the logo used byKGAN/Cedar Rapids from 1993 to 2004
• 
  RTL 2's logo from 6 April 1996 to 1999
• 
  The first version of the channel's circular "II" logo was used from 1999 to 2001.
• 
  Updated version of 1999 logo; used from 2001 to 2009
• 
  RTL II's from 2009 to 2019

The channel is operated by RTL2 TVGmbH & Co. KG, which was founded in 1992 and employs around 210 people. Andreas Bartl has been managing director since June 2014.^[4] The company was originally headquartered inCologne, but is now run from the municipality ofGrünwald, to the south of Munich; only its news department is still based in Cologne, in order to share RTL news production facilities. The company is jointly owned byRTL GroupS.A. (35.9%),^[5]Bauer Media Group (31.5%),^[6]Tele-Munich Television Media Participation LP (31.5%, of which theLeonine Holding andThe Walt Disney Company hold 50% each).^[5] andHubert Burda Media (1.1%)^[5]

Programming pillars are daily episodes of the localBig Brother in accessprime-time, and a prime-time lineup consisting mostly of docu soaps, movies and licensed series such as24 andStargate SG-1. Recent efforts to move further towards quality programming with science magazine shows and documentaries have met with an indifferent audience response.^{[citation needed]}

The channel's prime-time newscastRTL II News is frequently criticized^{[citation needed]} for its selection of news stories, which cater to a younger 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.^{[original research?]} This unconventional approach has brought RTL II's broadcasting licence into jeopardy at least once, as a Germancommercial broadcaster has to feature minimum amounts of serious information and culture programming to be allowed a full channel licence.^{[citation needed]} In addition to its own news programmes (RTL II News,RTL II Spezial. Das Magazin andDas Nachrichtenjournal), the channel commissions shows from independent producers which air in the afternoons.

In the afternoon, the channel now primarily features its own docu soap and reality show productions.^[7]

Among its prime-time line-up the channel's own docu soap productions such asDie Geissens – Eine schrecklich glamouröse Familie andFrauentausch are particularly successful. Various US shows such asGame of Thrones^[8] andThe Walking Dead^[9] have been the most successful series of RTL II's prime-time slot. Its late-night line-up also featured North American series such asAutopsie – Mysteriöse Todesfälle andFlashpoint.

RTL II has offered the largestanime content of all free-to-air German-language TV channels.^{[citation needed]} It aired about over 80 Anime series and also broadcast cartoons. On weekdays, RTL II also aired an anime afternoon in their children/youth "Pokito" slot. Following tensions with media authorities, RTL II'sstandards and practices department was believed^{[by whom?]} to be especially sensitive about children's programming. As a consequence, the channel has cut scenes from anime series likeDetective Conan,^[10]InuYasha,^[11]One Piece^[12] andNaruto,^[13][14] for which it has received criticism from anime fans. Even some episodes where the original version had previously been given aFSK 6 rating, meaning that it was suitable for children ages 6 up and may legally be aired at all hours of the day, have been edited down.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[15]

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 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.^[16] Due to its 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.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org.

	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Annual average
1993[17]	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2.6%
1994[18]	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3.8%
1995[19]	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4.6%
1996[20]	4.6%	4.1%	4.4%	4.8%	4.5%	4.3%	4.6%	4.5%	4.6%	4.6%	4.5%	4.1%	4.5%
1997[21]	4.1%	4.4%	4.3%	4.1%	4.2%	4.0%	3.8%	3.6%	3.6%	4.2%	3.8%	3.9%	4.0%
1998[22]	3.7%	3.9%	3.9%	4.1%	3.8%	3.4%	3.6%	3.9%	3.8%	3.8%	3.7%	3.6%	3.8%
1999[23]	3.6%	3.4%	3.4%	3.7%	4.0%	3.9%	4.4%	4.5%	4.6%	4.3%	4.2%	4.2%	4.0%
2000[24]	4.3%	4.1%	4.6%	5.5%	5.7%	5.0%	4.5%	4.8%	4.8%	5.6%	4.9%	4.5%	4.8%
2001[25]	4.4%	3.9%	3.9%	4.0%	4.0%	4.0%	3.7%	4.0%	4.0%	4.3%	4.2%	3.8%	4.0%
2002[26]	4.1%	3.7%	4.1%	4.0%	4.5%	4.1%	4.3%	4.1%	4.2%	3.4%	3.2%	3.2%	3.9%
2003[27]	4.1%	4.2%	4.0%	4.8%	5.1%	5.6%	5.1%	4.9%	4.7%	4.8%	4.6%	4.6%	4.7%
2004[28]	4.5%	4.5%	5.3%	5.1%	5.1%	4.8%	5.2%	4.9%	5.4%	4.9%	4.7%	4.5%	4.9%
2005[29]	4.4%	4.7%	4.4%	4.0%	4.4%	4.3%	4.2%	4.0%	4.0%	4.3%	3.9%	3.7%	4.2%
2006[30]	3.8%	3.6%	3.7%	3.9%	3.8%	3.4%	3.9%	4.0%	3.8%	3.9%	3.9%	3.8%	3.8%
2007[31]	3.4%	3.7%	3.7%	4.1%	4.0%	4.1%	4.2%	4.1%	3.7%	3.8%	3.8%	3.9%	3.9%
2008[32]	3.6%	3.9%	4.0%	4.1%	4.3%	3.5%	4.1%	3.8%	3.8%	3.7%	3.6%	3.6%	3.8%
2009[33]	3.7%	3.7%	3.9%	4.2%	4.1%	4.3%	4.1%	4.0%	3.7%	4.0%	3.9%	4.0%	3.9%
2010[34]	3.8%	3.8%	4.0%	4.0%	4.0%	3.5%	3.9%	3.9%	3.7%	3.7%	3.7%	3.6%	3.8%
2011[35]	3.4%	3.5%	3.4%	3.5%	3.6%	3.7%	3.7%	3.7%	3.6%	3.7%	3.7%	3.8%	3.6%
2012[36]	3.6%	3.7%	3.9%	3.8%	4.0%	3.7%	4.3%	4.1%	4.1%	4.2%	4.5%	4.3%	4.0%
2013[37]	3.9%	4.1%	4.1%	4.1%	4.3%	4.1%	4.3%	4.4%	4.0%	4.2%	4.4%	4.3%	4.2%
2014[38]	3.9%	3.8%	3.8%	4.1%	4.0%	3.4%	3.6%	3.9%	3.9%	3.9%	4.0%	3.9%	3.9%
2015[39]	3.6%	3.7%	4.0%	3.9%	3.8%	3.7%	3.8%	3.5%	3.6%	3.5%	3.2%	3.3%	3.7%
2016[40]	3.3%	3.6%	3.5%	3.7%	3.8%	3.2%	3.4%	3.3%	3.5%	3.5%	3.5%	3.2%	3.5%
2017[41]	3.1%	3.1%	3.2%	3.2%	3.2%	3.2%	3.4%	3.1%	2.9%	3.1%	3.1%	3.2%	3.2%
2018[42]	2.9%	3.1%	3.0%	3.0%

The average age of the viewers is 43.5 years (as of 2016).^[43]

• Official website(in German)

• RTL Group
• Television stations in Germany
• Television stations in Austria
• Television stations in Switzerland
• Television channels and stations established in 1993
• Mass media in Munich

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