RTL Group is one of the media conglomerates with the greatest presence in Germany, so far this year, all group’s channels share a 25.5% share, and which company’s main free-to-air channel RTL represents the largest portion of preference in the entire country.
But in addition to its main channel, the group has been standing out for its portfolio of dedicated channels and channels that are distributed through pay-TV operators or FAST platforms, such as NITRO and VOXup, the first, launched in 2012, with programming dedicated to the male audience from 29 to 59 years old, which mainly shows crime, science fiction, and action series, also documentaries on topics such as cars, police, ships and crime, sitcoms, and feature films are broadcast. The second is an evolution of VOX, offering a mix of well-known VOX brands, free TV premieres, and in-house productions with a main target focus on 14-59 years olds persons, especially women over 30.
‘Currently NITRO is one of our dedications in the markets. The channel is our masculine offer within our portfolio in Germany, due to its entertaining approach’, commented Christian Undorf, Channel manager, NITRO and VOXup, in an interview with Prensario.
The executive commented that the channel has a strong commitment to German and international fiction, such as American and British titles. ‘We also have some time slots dedicated to factual entertainment as well, I would say 70% fiction and 30% factual entertainment’, he added.
VOXup have a different proposal, and although it is an extension of the main channel VOX, for this one they do not acquire as many international titles, since it is fed by the local productions of its parent channel.
Regarding the current searches to strengthen the channels’ catalog, Undorf highlighted that for NITRO the company currently has its eyes set on docuseries aimed at the male audience. ‘We generally acquire several titles for NITRO, so the volume of acquisition is quite essential for us, we need at least 8 to 10 episodes to start with. Also NITRO is more into series-narrative-doc and we rather try not to have the classy VoiceOver narrator but strong protagonists who speak by themselves and tell the story from their perspective’, said the executive.
Local productions, third-party fiction, and reality shows work very well on both channels: ‘When it comes to factual entertainment, European production tends to resonate with our viewers. We have many car programs, such as repairs, transformations, and also sports, working hard programs. Maybe because here we are not good at producing this type of content, that is the reason why we acquire it from third parties in America’, the executive emphasized.
Sports broadcasting is precisely the success of NITRO, and the reason why the channel recently signed a broadcast agreement for Top European football. By 2024, the channel will broadcast the European Qualifiers for UEFA EURO and it has been broadcasted one of the top matchday matches on free TV and via live stream on RTL+ from September, continuing to June 2024. In total, the agreement includes ten international football matches at NITRO, including two playoff games in March 2024.
Undorf also referred to the growth of FAST supply and the growing demand: ‘What we can see it has become very complex and then too difficult actually because I’m young and fast channels is a buzzword these days and yes it has become quite complex when they’re acquiring rights because there are so many stakeholders involved now.
