From live TV to streaming hub: why RTL+ is central to RTL Group’s strategy

RTL+ has evolved from a simple catch-up TV platform into RTL Group’s integrated streaming and entertainment hub in Germany, combining video, music and podcasts under one subscription. For users and investors alike, the service now sits at the core of the media group’s digital growth plans.

Edited by ad hoc news Flagship & Bestseller Desk. Reviewed before publication on 06/15/2026 at 12:10 PM ET. Details in the imprint.

RTL+ has quietly become one of RTL Group’s most important consumer offerings in Europe, bundling streaming video, music and podcasts under a single subscription in Germany and positioning itself as the group’s flagship digital entertainment product. According to the company, the service counted around 4.8 million paying subscribers in Germany at the end of 2023, up from 4.0 million a year earlier, making it a central pillar of RTL’s transition away from purely linear TV. RTL Group’s latest annual report highlights the streaming platform as a key growth driver within its German business.

What RTL+ offers: beyond catch-up TV into full-service streaming

RTL+ started as a video-on-demand and catch-up service for RTL’s German TV channels but has expanded in recent years into a broader entertainment bundle that includes series, films, live channels, music streaming and podcasts under one account. RTL Deutschland integrates its own productions, licensed content and exclusive originals on the platform, ranging from reality formats and local fiction to international series, alongside live streams of linear channels such as RTL and VOX for subscribers. The company pitches RTL+ as a one-stop hub for German-language entertainment rather than a simple archive of broadcast programming, reflecting a strategic move to keep viewers inside its own ecosystem instead of losing them to global streaming competitors.

In 2021 and 2022, RTL Deutschland rebranded and expanded its streaming offering under the RTL+ name, adding audio content like music and podcasts to the established video service to create a multimedia bundle. The platform is typically offered in different paid tiers, with the entry-level subscription providing access to on-demand content with advertising and higher tiers reducing ads or adding features, while selected linear channels and daily soaps are available to stream before their free-TV broadcast in certain packages. By combining video and audio in a single app and subscription, RTL+ aims to differentiate itself from global video-only streamers and to increase time spent within its services during the day, from morning listening to evening TV viewing, especially for users in German-speaking markets. This broader content mix also gives RTL more surfaces to cross-promote shows and monetize advertising inventory across different media formats.

For users, the service is accessible across smart TVs, mobile apps, web browsers and streaming devices in Germany, with RTL Deutschland emphasizing seamless sign-in and cross-device usage. The catalog includes RTL’s own shows, licensed films and series, sports rights and exclusive originals, with an emphasis on local-language content to defend its position against international competitors in the German-speaking region. RTL+ also ties into the group’s advertising technology and data strategy, allowing targeted advertising on ad-supported tiers and integration with RTL’s ad-tech stack, which has been a core rationale for merging content and tech capabilities at RTL Deutschland in recent years. According to industry coverage, the platform sits at the center of RTL’s plan to offset declining traditional TV advertising with digital subscription and streaming ad revenue, a trajectory shared with other European media groups facing similar market shifts. A Reuters report on RTL’s streaming push in Germany underlined how investments in RTL+ serve as a response to changing viewing habits.

RTL Group reports that streaming is one of its fastest-growing activities, with RTL+ representing the German cornerstone of that strategy alongside the Videoland service in the Netherlands. In financial disclosures, the company breaks out “streaming revenue” as a separate line item, reflecting subscription fees and advertising from RTL+ and Videoland, and has reiterated its ambition to grow streaming subscribers and revenue to help offset pressure in the traditional TV advertising market. Within RTL Deutschland, RTL+ is described as the focal point of the “content, streaming and technology” strategy, concentrating investments into local entertainment formats that can perform both on linear channels and within the streaming environment. By building audience reach across TV and digital, RTL seeks to maintain relevance among younger viewers who are more likely to subscribe to streaming services than to watch scheduled broadcast TV.

For now, RTL+ is primarily a German-market product, with availability centered on Germany and, depending on rights, adjacent German-speaking regions, rather than a globally marketed service like US-based competitors. Pricing is set in euros and tailored to local purchasing power and advertising conditions, and the content slate is built around German-language entertainment and sports rights acquired for that territory. While the platform does not currently play a major direct role in RTL Group’s non-German operations, it provides a blueprint for how the company might structure and monetize streaming offerings in other European markets, with cross-learning between RTL+ and Videoland on technology and subscriber acquisition. RTL+ therefore serves simultaneously as a consumer-facing service and as an internal test bed for RTL’s broader digital transformation and data-driven advertising capabilities. Shares of RTL Group S.A. (LU0061462528) traded on Xetra in Frankfurt at €36.10 on 06/14/2026, underlining how public-market investors closely watch the progress of the company’s streaming strategy.

RTL+ streaming platform in brief

• Product: RTL+ (Germany streaming service)
• Manufacturer: RTL Group S.A.
• Category: Flagship streaming and entertainment platform
• Launch date: Video service launched earlier as TV Now; expanded and rebranded as RTL+ in 2021-2022
• MSRP / Price: Subscription pricing in euro-based tiers in Germany (entry-level ad-supported and higher ad-reduced packages)
• Availability: Primarily in Germany via web, mobile apps, smart TVs and streaming devices
• Target audience: Viewers in German-speaking markets seeking local-language series, reality shows, films and audio content
• Key differentiator / USP: Integrated bundle of video, music and podcasts built around German-language entertainment and RTL’s TV brands

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