COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - With emotional tributes and a crowded studio, the creators of RTL's 'Punkt 6', 'Punkt 7', and 'Punkt 8' have bid farewell to their audience. The extensive morning show team gathered on set at the conclusion of Thursday's 'Punkt 8' for a final goodbye. The programs aired for the last time on RTL, with the segment later made available on RTL.de.
'Morning television is many things,' the final introduction noted. 'Morning television is an incredible team, and it involves many people behind the scenes. That is why we are showing them to you now.'
Speakers included a member of the control room staff and an editorial director. He remarked that he had always enjoyed the work, 'every night, every day.' A long-serving staff member described the moment as feeling sad and melancholy.
Next Monday (May 4), a new news magazine titled 'Deutschland am Morgen' will launch on RTL and ntv, airing from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM. The program will be broadcast from the new, fully automated ntv studio. The previous morning magazines 'Punkt 6', 'Punkt 7', and 'Punkt 8' are being merged into this new format.
In January, RTL announced that approximately 230 jobs would be cut at RTL News. The company stated it was 'consistently realigning brands, content, and processes' within a 'challenging market environment.'/idt/DP/zb
