RTL plus
| RTL Television | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 2 January 1984 |
| Network | Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland |
| Owned by | RTL Group |
| Picture format |
576i 16:9 (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audience share | 9.8% (2016, dwdl.de) |
| Slogan | Willkommen zuhause (Welcome Home) |
| Country | Germany |
| Broadcast area | National Also distributed in: Austria Switzerland Luxembourg Croatia Netherlands |
| Headquarters | Cologne, Germany |
| Formerly called | RTL plus (1984–1992) |
| Sister channel(s) |
RTL II VOX Super RTL n-tv RTL Crime RTL Living Passion RTL Nitro |
| Website | www |
|
Availability
|
|
| Terrestrial | |
| DVB-T | Check local frequencies |
| Satellite | |
| Astra 19.2°E (Europe) | 12.188 GHz Horizontal SR: 27500 FEC: 3/4 SID: 12003 Video PID: 163 Audio PID: 104 Stereo, 106 Dolby Digital |
| HD+ Astra 19.2°E (Germany) | 10.832 GHz Horizontal SR: 22000 FEC: 2/3 SID: 61200 Video PID: 255 Audio PID: 259 Dolby Digital |
| Deukom/DStv (South Africa) | Channel 440 |
| Yes (Israel) (Israel) | Channel 120 |
| Open IPTV (Europe) | Channel 650 |
| Cable | |
| Kabel Deutschland (Germany) | Channel 103 (digital) |
| Cablecom (Switzerland) | Channel 009 (digital CH-D) |
| Naxoo (Switzerland) | Channel 155 |
| Ziggo (Netherlands) | Channel 58 |
| 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 |
| mtsTV (Serbia) | Channel 650 (digital) |
| NOS (Portugal) | Channel 232 |
RTL Television (formerly RTL plus), or simply RTL, is a German commercial television network distributed via cable and satellite, as well as via digital terrestrial (DVB-T) in more highly populated areas. It is owned by the RTL Group and is, in terms of market share, Germany's largest private free-to-air broadcaster.
The channel started broadcasting on 2 January 1984 at 17:27 from VHF channel E7 (system B, colour PAL) in Luxembourg. It only had a theoretical audience of approximately 200,000 until 1988, when it moved its headquarters to Cologne, Germany; prior to this it was considered a Luxembourg-based station.
RTL, which began as a spin-off of the German version of Radio Luxembourg, 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. In 1988, 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 rights 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. In 2012, RTL made a deal with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures to air films from Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios (including Disneytoon Studios), Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and DreamWorks Pictures (until distribution switched to Universal Studios in 2016).
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Wikipedia