RTL+ surpasses 7 million subscribers as Germany's streaming race intensifies

RTL+ surpassed 7 million paying subscribers around the turn of the year, according to an announcement from RTL Deutschland. The milestone reinforces the platform's position as the largest national streaming service in the German market.

The streaming service reached an average of more than 10 million monthly users during 2025, representing a cumulative net reach of 10.24 million people per month. RTL+ maintains status as the fastest-growing streaming service in Germany, competing directly with international platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+.

Das Sommerhaus der Stars – Kampf der Promipaare led Census+ rankings in the third quarter of 2025 with over 3.3 million views for the opening episode, making it the most streamed video of the month and RTL+'s most successful format since measurement began. Other highlights driving subscriber growth included Euphorie (Euphoria), Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl (Pumuckl's New Adventures), and National Football League broadcasts.

Profitability target maintained for 2026

Stephan Schmitter, CEO of RTL Deutschland, emphasized the company's determination to compete with global streaming services. "Reaching the milestone of 7 million paying subscribers highlights the strength of our content, our offering and our teams," Schmitter stated in the announcement. "RTL+ is already one of the largest streaming services in Germany – and we want more."

The figures demonstrate sustained audience engagement in a market where streaming surpassed traditional television viewing for the first time in September 2024. According to Bitkom research, 87 percent of Germans aged 16 and above now stream films, series, or television shows via the internet, compared to 86 percent who watch broadcast television.

Schmitter confirmed RTL+ remains on track to achieve profitability in 2026. "We will continue on this path with full determination in competition with global streaming services, further adapt our structures and expand RTL+ in 2026," Schmitter stated. "With strong content across all genres, investments in new technologies and unique partnerships, we will keep RTL+ on track to become profitable in 2026."

The profitability commitment aligns with RTL Group's strategic targets announced in August 2025, when the company projected approximately 9 million paying subscribers by 2026 across streaming services in Germany, Hungary, and France. Streaming revenue was expected to reach approximately €750 million by 2026, supported by annual content investment of around €500 million.

Content strategy emphasizes local production

RTL+'s growth strategy relies heavily on local content that resonates with German audiences. The platform combines exclusive original productions with licensed international content, sports programming, and extensive back catalogs of RTL Deutschland's television properties.

The "Mach dein Plus an" (switch on your plus) brand campaign accompanied content launches throughout 2025, positioning RTL+ as an essential entertainment service for German households. The marketing emphasized the platform's combination of reality entertainment, drama series, children's programming, and live sports.

National Football League broadcasts represented a significant investment in sports rights, providing appointment viewing opportunities that drive subscriber acquisition and retention. Sports content traditionally commands premium subscription fees and generates higher engagement rates than scripted entertainment, according to industry research.

Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl demonstrated RTL+'s focus on family-friendly content appealing to multiple generations. The series, based on a beloved German children's character created in the 1960s, leverages nostalgia while introducing classic intellectual property to younger viewers.

Market position strengthened through distribution partnerships

RTL+ benefits from extensive distribution partnerships that expand platform accessibility beyond direct subscriptions. Deutsche Telekom integrated RTL+ Premium into MagentaTV price plans in January 2025, extending the partnership until 2030. The arrangement automatically provides MagentaTV customers with access to RTL+ Premium content without additional fees.

The Deutsche Telekom partnership contributed to RTL Group's subscriber growth from 4.9 million in December 2023 to 6 million by December 2024, representing a 22.4 percent increase year-over-year. The distribution agreement positions RTL+ alongside international competitors while maintaining differentiation through local content offerings.

RTL+ also became available on Sky Stream's IPTV platform in August 2024, expanding reach to approximately 200,000 customers in Germany and Austria. The integration allowed Sky Stream subscribers to access RTL+ content within the unified interface, reducing friction for potential subscribers hesitant to manage multiple streaming applications.

In January 2026, RTL+ announced an exclusive bundling partnership with HBO Max launching January 13, 2026. The arrangement combines RTL+ Premium and HBO Max services under single subscription offerings, with advertising-supported tiers priced at €11.99 monthly and premium ad-free configurations at €17.99 monthly.

The HBO Max bundle represents a strategic response to streaming market fragmentation, where European research shows 57 percent of viewers believe too many streaming services exist. By consolidating multiple content libraries under unified subscriptions, RTL+ aims to reduce churn while capturing subscribers who might otherwise allocate budgets to competing platforms.

Technology infrastructure investments support growth

RTL Group continues investing in streaming technology infrastructure to support platform scalability and feature enhancement. The company announced in January 2025 that RTL+ in Germany would migrate to the Bedrock streaming technology platform by early 2026, generating cost savings while enhancing functionality.

Bedrock, RTL Group's streaming technology company, provides the technical foundation for advanced features including personalized recommendations, targeted advertising capabilities, and sophisticated content management systems. The technology platform supports RTL+, M6+ in France, and other streaming services within the RTL Group portfolio.

The migration to Bedrock enables improved digital advertising capabilities through enhanced targeting, measurement, and campaign optimization tools. These features prove increasingly important as RTL Group's digital advertising revenue climbed 27.1 percent to €230 million in the first half of 2025, while traditional television advertising declined 6.9 percent to €1,018 million.

Streaming platforms provide sophisticated audience data and targeting capabilities unavailable in traditional television advertising. Advertisers can segment audiences based on viewing behavior, demographic characteristics, and engagement patterns, enabling more precise campaign delivery and performance measurement.

Competitive landscape intensifies in German market

RTL+ competes in an increasingly crowded German streaming market where international platforms dominate subscriber counts but national services maintain competitive advantages through local content and language offerings. Netflix remains the market leader with substantial subscriber penetration, followed by Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.

Warner Bros. Discovery launched HBO Max in Germany on January 13, 2026, ending a 15-year distribution partnership with Sky Deutschland. The platform entry adds another international competitor while simultaneously partnering with RTL+ through the bundling arrangement announced January 8, 2026.

The competitive dynamics reflect broader consolidation trends in European media markets. RTL Group acquired Sky Deutschland for €150 million in June 2025, combining approximately 11.5 million paying subscribers across the DACH region. The transaction provides RTL Group with premium sports rights including Bundesliga, DFB Cup, Premier League, and Formula 1.

Traditional broadcasters face pressure to achieve scale rapidly to compete effectively against American technology companies. The RTL-Sky Deutschland merger creates operational synergies while maintaining competitive differentiation through premium content acquisition and local production investments.

Advertising technology partnerships supplement subscription revenue. RTL Deutschland secured Warner Bros. Discovery partnerships in September 2025, creating El Cartel Brothers advertising sales house combining RTL Zwei and Warner Bros. Discovery Germany inventory. The joint venture enables unified campaign management across multiple media properties.

Financial performance supports strategic investments

RTL Group reported robust financial performance in 2025 despite challenging television advertising markets. The company's streaming services generated 7.232 million paying subscribers by June 30, 2025, representing 15.3 percent growth from 6.273 million subscribers in the same period of 2024.

Streaming revenue rose 27.0 percent to €235 million in the first half of 2025, compared to €185 million in the first half of 2024. The growth supported continued content investment and technology infrastructure development required to compete with well-funded international platforms.

However, RTL Group reduced full-year 2025 adjusted EBITA guidance from approximately €780 million to €650 million on November 18, 2025. The revision reflected weaker television advertising markets in Germany and France that failed to gain momentum during the second half of the year as initially anticipated.

Thomas Rabe, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group, acknowledged challenging market conditions while emphasizing streaming performance. "The market environment remains challenging, with a reduction of TV advertising revenue in our core markets and an accelerated shift from linear TV to streaming," Rabe stated in quarterly results released November 2025.

The accelerated shift from linear television to streaming creates both challenges and opportunities for established broadcasters. Traditional television advertising revenue declines pressure profitability while streaming subscription and digital advertising revenue grows. The transition requires sustained investment in content, technology, and marketing during a period when traditional revenue streams contract.

Advertising technology enables revenue diversification

RTL Group operates Smartclip, an advertising technology subsidiary providing programmatic advertising solutions across media properties. In March 2025, RTL AdAlliance launched AdManager platform for European video campaigns, enabling sophisticated programmatic campaign execution with real-time bidding and advanced audience segmentation.

Digital advertising capabilities help offset traditional television advertising declines while building relationships with advertisers shifting budgets toward streaming platforms. RTL+ offers both advertising-supported subscription tiers and premium ad-free options, maximizing revenue potential from diverse subscriber segments.

The advertising-supported tier strategy mirrors approaches adopted by international competitors including Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max. Ad-supported tiers typically feature lower subscription prices that reduce barriers to entry while generating advertising revenue that supplements subscription fees.

Ad Alliance, RTL Group's advertising sales house in Germany, manages advertising inventory across television channels, streaming platforms, radio stations, and digital properties. The consolidated sales approach provides advertisers with simplified access to diverse audience segments while enabling cross-platform campaign optimization.

In September 2025, Ad Alliance partnered with Utiq for cookieless targeting across RTL's digital properties. The partnership addresses privacy regulation requirements while maintaining sophisticated audience targeting capabilities essential for premium advertising rates.

Viewing hour growth demonstrates engagement

RTL+ achieved 346 million viewing hours in the first half of 2025, increasing 17.5 percent from 294 million hours in the first half of 2024. The expanded viewing time creates additional inventory for digital advertising placements across the platform's content library.

Higher viewing hours per subscriber indicate strong content engagement, a key metric for streaming service health. Platforms with higher engagement typically experience lower churn rates, as subscribers who regularly consume content perceive greater value from subscriptions and demonstrate reduced propensity to cancel.

The Census+ measurement system provides independent verification of streaming performance in Germany, enabling comparisons across competing platforms. RTL+'s dominance of Census+ rankings in the third quarter of 2025, with Das Sommerhaus der Stars achieving over 3.3 million views, demonstrates competitive content performance against international rivals.

Reality entertainment formats traditionally generate strong engagement in German markets, combining appointment viewing patterns with social media discussion that extends content reach beyond direct subscribers. The genre's relatively lower production costs compared to scripted drama enable higher content volume while maintaining quality standards that drive viewership.

Strategic outlook emphasizes content investment

RTL Deutschland's commitment to profitability by 2026 depends on sustained subscriber growth, controlled content investment, and operational efficiency improvements. The company must balance content spending that drives subscriber acquisition against financial discipline required to achieve positive earnings.

Content investment focuses on genres with demonstrated audience appeal in German markets, including reality entertainment, drama series, sports programming, and children's content. The strategy combines exclusive original productions with licensed content that fills programming schedules while maintaining subscriber interest between tentpole releases.

Sports rights represent significant ongoing investment requirements, with competition from international platforms and traditional broadcasters driving rights costs upward. RTL+ secured UEFA Europa League rights as part of broader RTL Deutschland sports strategy that includes DFB-Pokal broadcasting rights beginning the 2026/27 season.

Technology investments in the Bedrock platform migration will generate operational efficiencies while enhancing subscriber experience through improved personalization, faster content delivery, and expanded feature sets. The technology foundation supports international expansion opportunities should RTL Group pursue streaming growth beyond current German, French, and Hungarian markets.

Marketing investments maintain brand awareness and drive subscriber acquisition in a market with substantial advertising spending from international competitors. The "Mach dein Plus an" campaign positions RTL+ as an essential entertainment service rather than supplementary platform, competing for primary household subscription budget allocation.

Market implications for digital advertising

RTL+'s growth to 7 million paying subscribers creates expanded inventory for digital advertising campaigns, providing marketers with access to audiences increasingly difficult to reach through traditional television. The platform's combination of subscriber scale and sophisticated targeting capabilities positions it as a credible alternative to international streaming platforms.

German digital advertising market growth accelerated in 2024, with European digital advertisements reaching €118.9 billion with 16 percent growth, according to IAB Europe. Connected TV advertising represents a significant growth opportunity, with programmatic advertising growth reaching 72 percent as marketers shift budgets toward connected TV platforms.

RTL+'s advertising technology infrastructure, combined with extensive first-party data from subscribers and viewers, enables sophisticated audience targeting that matches capabilities available on international platforms. This technical parity proves essential for competing against well-funded technology companies with advanced data science capabilities.

The shift from traditional television advertising to streaming platforms creates challenges for advertisers accustomed to broad reach and simple buying processes. However, streaming platforms offer superior targeting precision, measurable outcomes, and flexible creative formats that traditional television cannot match.

Cookieless targeting capabilities, developed through partnerships like the Utiq integration, ensure RTL+ can maintain sophisticated targeting while complying with European privacy regulations including GDPR. Privacy-compliant advertising technology proves increasingly important as regulatory scrutiny intensifies and consumer privacy expectations evolve.

Conclusion

RTL+'s achievement of 7 million paying subscribers demonstrates the viability of national streaming services competing against international platforms through local content strategies, distribution partnerships, and technology investments. The milestone positions RTL Deutschland as a significant player in Germany's streaming market while highlighting challenges facing traditional broadcasters managing transitions from linear television to digital platforms.

The profitability target for 2026 requires sustained subscriber growth, controlled content spending, and operational efficiency improvements. Success depends on RTL+'s ability to maintain competitive content offerings while building sustainable business models that balance subscription revenue, advertising income, and operational costs.

For marketing professionals, RTL+'s growth creates expanded opportunities for reaching German audiences through sophisticated digital advertising capabilities. The platform's scale, combined with advanced targeting technology and quality content environments, positions it as an important component of cross-media advertising strategies targeting German consumers.

Timeline

• August 2024 – RTL+ becomes available on Sky Stream IPTV platform, expanding distribution reach
• September 2024 – Streaming surpasses traditional television viewing in Germany for first time, according to Bitkom research
• December 2024 – RTL+ reaches 6 million paying subscribers, up from 4.9 million in December 2023
• January 2025 – Deutsche Telekom and RTL Deutschland extend streaming partnership until 2030, integrating RTL+ Premium into MagentaTV plans
• March 2025 – RTL AdAlliance launches AdManager platform for European video campaigns
• June 2025 – RTL Group acquires Sky Deutschland for €150 million, combining approximately 11.5 million paying subscribers
• August 2025 – RTL Group reports 27% digital advertising revenue growth to €230 million in H1/2025
• September 2025 – RTL Deutschland secures Warner Bros. Discovery partnerships and DFB-Pokal broadcasting rights
• September 2025 – Ad Alliance partners with Utiq for cookieless targeting across RTL's digital properties
• Q3 2025 – Das Sommerhaus der Stars opening episode achieves over 3.3 million views, becoming RTL+'s most successful format in Census+ measurement
• November 2025 – RTL Group reduces 2025 profit outlook as German and French TV advertising markets weaken
• December 2025 / January 2026 – RTL+ surpasses 7 million paying subscribers around the turn of the year
• January 2026 – RTL+ announces exclusive bundling partnership with HBO Max launching January 13, 2026
• Early 2026 – RTL+ scheduled to migrate to Bedrock streaming technology platform
• 2026 – RTL Deutschland targets RTL+ profitability while continuing content investments and technology enhancements

Summary

Who: RTL Deutschland, led by CEO Stephan Schmitter, operates RTL+ streaming service as part of RTL Group's portfolio including television channels, radio stations, and digital platforms across Germany, France, Hungary, and Luxembourg.

What: RTL+ surpassed 7 million paying subscribers around the turn of the year, strengthening position as Germany's largest national streaming service while reaching an average of more than 10 million monthly users during 2025, driven by local content including Das Sommerhaus der Stars, Euphorie, Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl, and National Football League broadcasts.

When: Announced in early January 2026, the 7 million subscriber milestone was achieved around the turn of the year between December 2025 and January 2026, following growth from 6 million subscribers in December 2024 and 4.9 million in December 2023.

Where: Germany serves as primary market for RTL+, with RTL Group also operating M6+ in France and RTL+ in Hungary as part of broader European streaming strategy targeting approximately 9 million paying subscribers by 2026 across all markets.

Why: The subscriber growth matters for the marketing community because it demonstrates viability of national streaming services competing against international platforms through local content strategies, creates expanded digital advertising inventory with sophisticated targeting capabilities, reflects accelerated shift from traditional television to streaming that reached inflection point in September 2024 when streaming surpassed broadcast viewing in Germany, and positions RTL+ for planned profitability in 2026 while RTL Group's digital advertising revenue grew 27 percent even as traditional TV advertising declined 6.9 percent in first half of 2025.