User:Gurneyb/sandbox/Global Insights: Germany

Welcome to Global Insights: Germany, a presentation of all things German TV.

The German television market is the oldest in the world!

The most watched genres are crime dramas and nature programmes. However, with over 365 TV channels the German market is one of the biggest and most diverse in the world. There is appetite and an audience for all genres of TV!

Overview

Television in Germany began public broadcasting in Berlin on 22 March 1935, broadcasting for 90 minutes three times a week. It was the first public television station in the world, named Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow.

In the year 2000, the German television market had approximately 36.5 million television households, making it the largest television market in Europe. Nowadays, 95% (40Million) German households have at least one television receiver.

All the main German TV Channels are free to air. Broadcasters lean towards more tried and tested formats, but have recently moved towards live-event style programming to draw audiences back into the habit of watching linear TV.

The general culture of German television is quite liberal and collaborates intellectual and critical thinking. Political talk shows and news-based programming are consistently popular, along with programmes which get under the skin of, or offer a deep dive into, a particular topic. However, that’s not to say this is all the German market has to offer. Expect anything from this factual programming to scripted and constructed reality shows (like you’ve never seen them before), to shiny floor entertainment formats which can often run for up to four hours!

Fun Facts/ Things to Remember

• The German television market produces over €6Bn in annual revenue

• There are 365 TV channels

• German's watch an average of 211 minutes (3.5 hours) of TV each day!

• Contrary to international trends, free to air, ad funded channels make the most money so tend to have a stronger market hold than subscription services (for now)...

• German TV is the largest market for dubbing in Europe

• The Germans pioneered the constructed (scripted) reality genre, leading the way for shows like Made in Chelsea and TOWIE
  

• In a 2010 survey, half German viewers said they never find anything to watch on TV

• When it comes to television formats, Germany is primarily a buying market and not a selling one (This is because of the country’s total buyout culture, whereby producers and writers sell their material, including the distribution rights to broadcasters)

Free to Air Channels

ZDF

13.9% market share in 2019

Public broadcaster run by license fees and advertising. ZDF is considered Germany's main source of public information but offers a full range of genres. They aim to provide a comprehensive 'picture' of Germany.

Shows

This Year -

Sorry fur alles (Sorry about that). Adaptation of Belgian hidden camera show. They mess with contestants' lives over the course of a month before bringing them in to the studio to reveal and ask them about their experience.

Still Hot -

Heute Show (The Daily Show). Satyrical chat show aired every Friday and hosted by German comedian Oliver Welke.

Historic -

Rette die Million! Million pound drop adaptation which ran 2010-2013

Wetten, dass..? Adapted into the UK's You Bet! and the US' Wanna Bet? The show ran from 1981-2014, and was the most successful Saturday night show in Europe. Ordinary people claim they can perform a very unusual or difficult task and a panel of celebrities bet on whether they can do so. Some of the best episodes saw 13 swimmers tow a ship, and a blindfolded farmer identify his cows.

Das Erste

11.3% market share in 2019

Das Erste is Germany's core public broadcasting service. The channel is owned by ARD (world's first public channel) and is operated by nine regional public broadcasters. Because of this, most of the programming is local. The main national shows are news/ factual - think of it as an amalgamation of different regional channels.

RTL

8.4% market share in 2019

RTL was the first privately financed TV network in Germany, first broadcast in 1984. It's Germany's leading commercial channel and the home of large scale entertainment series. It has a youth skewing audience, but has struggled for viewership in recent years so they have a strong appetite to diversify their slate.

Shows

This Year -

Bin ich schlaur als...? (Am I more intelligent than...) Celebrities are tested on their IQ, whilst people play along at home to see if they're more intelligent.

Durch die Nacht mit Jenke - der fragt das wirklich (Through the night with Jenke - he is aking this for real) Chat show where the host has no idea who they're meeting.

Still Hot -

Love Island German version of the UK format, broadcast on RTL2.

Das Sommerhaus der Stars (Summerhous of the stars/ powercouple) RTL's huge hit follows a group of celebrity couples as they move in to a house together for two weeks.

Historic -

Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Germany seeks the superstar) The German version of the Idol franchise. Now into its 17th season, it has become one of the biggest shows on German television.

Das Supertalent (Germany's got talent) With 13 seasons, the German version of the franchise has had endless negative reviews over the years, but still pushes respectable ratings.

SAT.1

6% market share in 2019

Note: SAT.1 is part of the ProSeibenSat.1 Media group. The same group that owns the ProSeiban channel

The Bertlesmann owned commercial channel SAT.1 relies heavily upon imported series and doesn't produce a lot of its own. However, German dubbed American TV shows have declined in popularity over the past few years, and we've seen SAT.1 commission an array of exciting entertainment shows.

Shows

This Year -

300: War of United Voices Aired earlier this month, this Korean format sees top artists join with 300 fans for a one off performance.

Fittest Family Germany Aired in October, fit families compete in physical challenges to win 100k.

Catch! Supersized, pimped-out version of the kids game of 'tag'. Celebrities go head to head, joined by a select team, and set over an elaborate assault course!

Mom - milf or missy This original commission explores the role that age plays within dating. This series, two men date women of different ages and reflect on their experience. This has been produced by ProSeibenSat1 and released on their online streaming platform Joyn.

Still Hot -

Big Brother German version of the UK format is actually benefitting from the current corona virus situation. Having been cut off from the real world, Big Brother contestants were informed of the growing impact of the pandemic live on the show. Viewer numbers were bolstered, with over a million people tuning in for the first time this season. At 6.8% (A14-49), the target group share was just above average.

The Biggest Loser The German version of the American format has been running for over 10 years now. Despite starting on ProSeiben, the show has been on Sat.1 since 2014.

Historic -

Wheel of Fortune The family classic first aired in Germany in 1988! The show has since jumped to various different channels, but remains one of the shows Sat.1 is famous for.

VOX

4.8% market share in 2019

Owned by the RTL Group, VOX mainly broadcasts documentaries and US series and movies which dominate primetime slots. However, there's a whole host of entertainment shows which make great day time viewing on weekdays.

Shows

Main Shows -

Die Hohle der Lowen (The Lions' Cave/ Dragons' Den) German version of the UK format first aired in 2014.

Kitchen Impossible is an original German format that also started in 2014. Two top chefs try to replicate a local chef's speciality dish without knowing the complete list of ingredients. Their friends and family then rate their efforts based on how close they get to the original dish.

Sing meinen Song - Das Taischkonzert (Sing My Song - The Exchange concert) adapted from the Dutch series, The Best Singers. Each episode famous German singers review people doing covers of their songs. They decide which cover is the best and an album is produced at the end of the series featuring these songs.

Historic -

Wa(h)re Liebe X Rated magazine show about sex clubs, fetishism, BDSM etc, which the channel became famous for. Aired from 1994-2004.

Pro Sieben

4.3% market share in 2019

"We Love to Entertain You" is their motto. However, the channel has seen a massive decrease in ratings in recent years as it used to just show German dubbed American series. Now, it's getting back into the game with second dibs on big entertainment formats.

Shows

This Year -

The Masked Singer Already renewed for a second series because of great ratings!

Wer Schlaft, Verliert! (Who sleeps loses) Six celebrities compete in challenges after not sleeping for 60 hours. Aired last week to a strong 5.2% share. Six celebrities are watched in their attempt to stay awake for the time period before taking part in a live event skill and attention games. The celebrity to complete the most challenges without falling asleep wins.

Main Shows -

The Voice Now in its tenth series, with the kids version going strong as well.

Historic -

Schlag den Raab / Schlag den Star Saturday night entertainment show where contestants competed against host Stefan Raab, or a guest star across a variety of challenges to win points and in turn a cash prize. The challengers were voted for by the audience and the challenges were tiered in difficulty to win more points. The show was a huge hit in its time, before it ended in 2015.

Subscription Channels

Germany's subscription channels and services are used mainly for sports. They're still relatively small, with around 8 million subscribers in total.

Sky Deutschland

By far the biggest subscription service with 5.2 million households. Like the UK version, Sky Deutschland has a whole host of different channels. The main entertainment shows include: Masterchef,A League of their own,Riot-on-Riot (whoever gets lost first), and The X Factor until it was cancelled in 2018.

SVODS

Netflix The heavy hitter is desperately trying to gain a larger market share through commissioning originals and signing big talent. Last year, Germany had the highest growth for scripted format origination.

Amazon Prime Video Launching in 2014, Prime is allegedly the largest of the SVODS with 9 million subscribers.

Maxidrome Specific to Germany and launching in 2006, this provider was originally used to stream films and series. However, they have recently started commissioning originals. Although these are mostly scripted, expect to see more un-scripted in the not so distant future!

Seven things happening in German TV RIGHT NOW!!!

• Social Interest Programming: Programmes which follow the poorer or marginalised members of society are performing well on German television. There's been big growth in factual entertainment areas as a consequence with shows like Celebrities on a budget, Rich House Poor House, and The Great Benefits Handout (particularly across public broadcasters like ZDF and Das Erste).

• Quiz Show Revivals: Like the UK, there is a quiz show renaissance in Germany RIGHT NOW!

• Renewed Interest in Soaps: Enjoying some of the genre's best ratings in recent years.

• Multinationals Strengthen Market Position: Global media companies have began looking to the German market through production investment and big mergers. Most notably, French owned Banijay Group launched a German production arm BPG in 2018. In the same year, British owned All3Media invested in two German based prod cos.

• Increase in Scripted Originals: Following global trends, channels big and small are producing more to keep up with SVOD competition and retain the youth audience. Germany was the fastest growing exporter of scripted originals last year.

• Broadcasters Address FAANG Competition: This has been happening for the last few years now, as broadcasters are forming alliances to bulk out their own online platforms (like Btir Box in the UK).

• Top Talents Sign Exclusive Deals: This is a tactic employed by the cash rich SVODS. They're signing exclusive deals with top talent to ensure that the streamers achieve a constant stream of top tier programming. For example, the husband and wife creative team Jantje Friese and Baran be Odar behind the award winning series Dark signed an exclusive deal with Netflix.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

References

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