German market leaders join forces

Deutsche Telekom and RTL Group’s largest business unit, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, today announced to systematically extend their cooperation.

Initially, the partners will integrate the RTL streaming service TV Now Premium in Deutsche Telekom’s TV offer, Magenta TV. As of today, the price plans Magenta TV Smart and Magenta TV Smart Flex will automatically include TV Now Premium without any additional fee for customers.

Bundling TV Now Premium and Magenta TV in one subscription gives viewers access to more than 60,000 hours of programming across all genres – from award-winning drama series and entertainment shows, to news, documentaries and live sport.

Deutsche Telekom and Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland have also agreed to increase cooperation in advertising technology, advertising sales and content. Both companies will place a special focus on addressable TV, combining the high reach of linear TV with the targeting solutions of digital advertising. The first tests in 2021 will be based on RTL Group’s ad-tech solutions, Smartclip and Yospace, and will be open for additional partners from the media and TV industry. In Germany alone, the market for addressable TV advertising is expected to grow to more than €500 million by 2025.

“We want to further accelerate the growth of our streaming service via the strength of our linear channels, huge investments in content, technology – and by forging strong partnerships,” explains Bernd Reichart, CEO of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland. “Our content expertise and sales power combined with the technological skills of Deutsche Telekom and its strong infrastructure are a perfect match. Together, we also want to open up the future market of addressable TV advertising on the basis of an open technological ecosystem, independent of the global tech platforms.”

“We have long considered ourselves to be an aggregator and utilise cooperations to further expand MagentaTV for our customers,” explains Michael Hagspihl, Head of Consumers at Telekom Deutschland. “With Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, we are working with a strong partner with whom we will intensify our collaboration in terms of content, technology, and sales. Together, we want to significantly shape the TV industry and set new focuses in the German advertising market”.

A first in Germany: In a unique three-minute primetime TV special, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland will announce the new offer simultaneously on its RTL Television, Vox, Vox up, NTV, Nitro, Super RTL, and RTLplus channels on 17 November at 20h12. A large-scale marketing campaign from Deutsche Telekom and RTL Deutschland will accompany the new offer. The campaign will launch at the start of December.