COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - The late-night news program "RTL Direkt" is being discontinued. RTL first broadcast the late-night news four years ago, and the last program is now scheduled to air on July 23.
The reason given was: "RTL is optimizing its audience flow in primetime." The wording suggests that the station was not satisfied with the ratings. In addition, evening programs such as RTL's jungle camp and specials of "Wer wird Millionär?" were repeatedly interrupted by the late-night news.
"RTL Direkt" airs live from Berlin on the channel Monday through Thursday at 10:15 p.m., while the other "RTL Aktuell" programs will continue to air during the day and at night.
"Presenter Pinar Atalay will remain with the company as its first female journalist and will continue to be part of the "RTL Aktuell" presentation team," emphasized the station. "In addition, new formats are already being developed with her. Among other things, Pinar Atalay will start a ntv talk show in the fall." Her co-presenter Jan Hofer had already left in August 2024.
"Competition for attention"
"In times when the competition for attention has never been greater, it is becoming increasingly important to reduce potential switching points in order to increase the amount of time viewers spend with the channel," explained program director Inga Leschek in a statement.
"RTL Direkt" was launched in August 2021 with high hopes. The prominent names of Jan Hofer and Pinar Atalay as anchorman and anchorwoman also attracted attention because RTL brought in the driving forces of public broadcasting with them. Hofer had been the most recognizable face of the "Tagesschau" news program for many years, while Atalay came from the "Tagesthemen" news program.
"A decision made with a heavy heart"
In 2022, after the first year on air, Atalay still spoke of a clear ratings success among younger people: According to figures at the time, "RTL Direkt" had an average market share of 9.6 percent among 14- to 49-year-olds from Monday to Thursday, ahead of "Tagesthemen" (8.2 percent) and "heute-journal" (9.5 percent).
A sample taken on the evening of May 26, 2025, shows that "RTL Direkt" is no longer in the lead. According to dwdl.de, the program had a 4.9 percent share in the same target group at 10:15 p.m., while "Tagesthemen" had 6.9 percent and "heute-journal" had 5.8 percent.
Employees also affected
According to Leschek, immediate and detailed live coverage of events such as the recent funeral of Pope Francis and the election of his successor or the election of the German chancellor is becoming increasingly important for television. "To this end, we need to pool our resources and strengthen RTL in competition with the public broadcasters. It is therefore with a heavy heart that we have decided to discontinue "RTL Direkt" during the summer break."
"We deeply regret that the discontinuation of 'RTL Direkt' will result in the departure of highly valued colleagues at RTL News in Berlin," said Martin Gradl, Managing Director of RTL News & ntv. "We are very grateful to them for their commitment and will look for alternatives for them within the company or support them in their search for a new job." The number of employees affected was not initially disclosed./bok/DP/jha
