'Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.
| RTL Television | |
|---|---|
| Launched | 2 January 1984 |
| Owned by | RTL Group |
| Picture format | 16:9, HDTV) 1080i |
| Audience share | 12.4% (2007, [1]) |
| Slogan | Mein RTL (My RTL) |
| Country | Germany |
| Broadcast area | National Also distributed in: Austria Switzerland Luxembourg Belgium Netherlands Poland Hungary Czech Republic Romania Croatia Italy |
| Headquarters | Cologne, Germany |
| Formerly called | RTL plus (1984–1992) |
| Website | http://www.rtl.de/ |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| DVB-T | misc. |
| Satellite | |
| ASTRA 1L (Europe) | |
| Hot Bird 6 (Europe, Middle East, North Africa) | |
| Deukom/DStv (South Africa) | Channel 440 |
| Yes (Israel) (Israel) | Channel 120 |
| TV Cabo (Portugal) | Channel 232 |
| Open IPTV (Europe) | Channel 537 |
| Cable | |
| Kabel Deutschland (Germany) | Channel 103 (digital) |
| Cablecom (Switzerland) | Channel 009 (digital CH-D) |
| Naxoo (Switzerland) | Channel 155 |
| Ziggo (Netherlands) | Channel 606 |
| YouSee (Denmark) | Channel 54 |
| MC Cable (Monaco) | - |
| RCS&RDS (Romania) | Channel 189 |
| UPC Romania | Channel 732 (digital with DVR) Channel 189 (digital) |
| Telenet (Belgium) | Channel 175 |
| SBB (Serbia) | Channel 367 (digital) |
RTL Television (formerly RTL plus), or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial), in larger population centres. It belongs to the RTL Group and is, in terms of market share, Germany's largest private free-to-air broadcaster.
It started broadcasting on 2 January 1984 at 17:27 from VHF channel E7 (system B, color PAL) in Luxembourg and at first only had a theoretical audience of approx. 200,000. Until 1988, when it moved its headquarters to Cologne, Germany, it was considered a Luxembourg-based station.
A spin-off of the German version of Radio Luxembourg, RTL started with a low budget and many of the early hosts simply presented versions of their radio formats adapted for television. One early success was the quiz show "Ein Tag wie kein anderer" (A Day Like No Other), in which candidates were competing for a holiday.
RTL plus was famous in its early years for showing low-budget films and American programmes. It was the number 2 commercial broadcaster.
All that changed when RTL moved to Cologne and, in return, received the right to broadcast on terrestrial frequencies. That same year, RTL acquired the first-run right to the prestigious Fußball-Bundesliga. Deals with Cannon, which at the time was successful with films like Highlander and, one year later, with Universal Studios, finally provided more high profile films for the channel.
The current slogan is "Mein RTL" which means My RTL.
It is now the primary channel of the RTL Group's German television stations, which also include RTL II, Super RTL, VOX and n-tv.
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