RTL (Hungarian TV channel)

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RTL

Country	Hungary
Broadcast area	Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine
Headquarters	1222 Budapest, Nagytétényi út 29. (Media Center Campona)
Programming
Language(s)	Hungarian
Picture format	1080i (HD) 576i (SD)
Ownership
Owner	RTL Group
Parent	RTL Magyarország
Key people	Gabriella Vidus, CEO Dr. Péter Kolosi, Programming Director
Sister channels	RTL Kettő RTL Három RTL Gold RTL Otthon Cool TV Muzsika TV Film+ Sorozat+ Sorozatklub Filmklub Kölyökklub
History
Launched	7 October 1997; 26 years ago (1997-10-07) (as RTL Klub)
Former names	RTL Klub (1997–2022)
Links
Website	rtl.hu
Availability
Terrestrial
MinDig TV	Channel 7 (SD)

RTL (formerly: RTL Klub and abbreviated as RTL HU) is a Hungarian free-to-air television channel owned by RTL Group.

History

Since its start, RTL Klub has focused to gain viewers from the urban population. The channel airs programs mostly for a younger (18-49) audience.

RTL Klub rebranded again in early September 1999. The idents consists of two elements (fire and water), with the eye motif being introduced for the first time.

On 17 December 2001, RTL Klub adapted another new identity, designed by Dogfish and focuses on people which then zoom into their eyes.

RTL Klub and TV2 aired two similar major reality series simultaneously. While TV2 purchased the rights of

RTL Klub is the most watched TV channel in Hungary since 2002, thanks to the daily Hungarian soap opera Barátok közt (Among Friends), which is the most watched TV programme in Hungary with more than 2 million viewers; the tabloid magazine Fókusz (Focus) and the game show Legyen Ön is milliomos (

Before these idents were introduced, three teasers featuring Naná (the mascot that appeared on most idents itself, usually walking and enclosed in a dark red circle) would air during commercial blocks from late March 2003 until the moment when these idents would be eventually introduced on April 19 that year. These idents sometimes featured short 2D and 3D animations involving Naná itself. This was the last identity package with the "coloured" on screen bug, the next package had it changed into transparent gray.

From the fall-winter season of 2005–2006, RTL Klub has started to broadcast popular American TV shows like Lost. The first episode of Lost had almost 2 million viewers, and a 50% share. This was a record. The next year Prison Break started with almost 1.6 million. Nowadays a TV show at prime time (21:00) can reach 1-1.5 million viewers. In season 2006–2007 Prison Break was the most watched American series in Hungary.

From the fall season of 2007, RTL Klub has launched two new formats with great success. Poker Face ran like a tournament for six weeks with an average 38-42% share. The other new show was

RTL Klub was the only licensed broadcaster of Formula One in Hungary from 2002 until 2011. After 10 years RTL decided not to renew the license for Formula 1. The reason was that they wanted to concentrate mainly for the prime time programs because of the shrinking advertising market.^[1]

RTL Klub changed its graphics package once again, at 19:00 CET of 24 December 2005, just after the end of RTL Híradó that day. For the first time in its history, the logo but stopped being colourful as it became light gray.

RTL Klub has been the only licensed broadcaster of Domino Day in Hungary, for 6 years (2004–2009).

RTL Klub introduced a new graphics package on 1 June 2008 at 16:30 CET, just before a commercial break during a simulcast of a horse race. The package features the FF DIN Condensed typeface. (Its main competitor TV2 used the non-condensed version of FF DIN from 2008 to 2020). The idents were designed by the team of the Argentinian television channel Punga TV. They were consisted of concrete blocks flying across the screen, against a backdrop of Hungarian landmarks or the Hungarian countryside, until they eventually formed the letters RTL (with KLUB in a much smaller font below). On its first day, the 2005–2008 on-screen bug was retained, but it was changed to a lighter but the next day, with the new appearing and disappearing "animations".

From 2010, RTL Klub started with 2 winning formats. First of all the channel after 6 years absence successfully relaunched the Való Világ franchise. VV4 ran with a 40% SHR among 18-49 demographic.^[2] Secondly they purchased the rights of television talent show The X Factor. The show ran with a 50% SHR^[3] among 18-49 demographic which is really high on the Hungarian television market. The Factor crashed the competitor talent show on TV2 so "Megasztár" left the time slot of The X Factor after a few episodes. Because of the success of both format, RTL Klub renewed both show for the 5th and 2nd season respectively. They started in the fall season of 2011.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, RTL Klub rebranded for the first time in nine years, on 2 October 2017 at 04:00 CET. This was a major overhaul for the channel as its old graphics package, which was dominated by grey and fluorescent colours, was replaced by a vibrant multicoloured graphics package. This was considered the last image under the name RTL Klub.

It confirmed on 2 September 2022 that all RTL channels will change their names, while RTL Klub will be renamed simply to RTL on 22 October 2022 on the occasion of the channel's 25th anniversary.^[4] The channel changed its name and identity on 22 October 2022 at 20:40 CEST during the TV show X-Faktor.^[5] Its logo and identity is based on its German counterpart.

Programming

Current

Original programming

• Barátok közt (Among Friends): the most watched domestically produced television soap of Hungary. The show started in the fall of 1998, one year after the foundation of RTL Klub. The show remarkably resembles BBC soap-drama, EastEnders. Initially, it didn't have the expected ratings, however, bound by the contract, RTL Klub had to keep the show running. Since 2000, the third season, the show has been rarely beaten in ratings in its own timeslot. Today, the average rating of the show is about 2 million viewers, and it's a solid foundation of viewers the channel occasionally builds on. Each episode of the series is 15 minutes long, and every weekday two episodes are aired. In between the two episodes, there is a news session as well as the highest value commercial block in Hungarian television. The show will end, after 23 seasons, on July 17, 2021, with an extended special episode.
• X-Faktor: the licensed version of the talent show The X Factor
  . The first season started in the fall season of 2010. Because of the great success the 2nd season started one year later. Season 3 started in fall 2012. Season 4 started 1 year later with 3 new judges and 2 new hosts.
• Való Világ (Real World): the show is similar to the reality show Big Brother although there are some major differences between the two formats. VV first started on RTL Klub in 2002. At the same time the rival TV channel (TV2) purchased the rights of the successful Big Brother format. The 1st seasons of the 2 shows had similar ratings but BB was slightly ahead. Since the 2nd season VV crashed the rival format so BB moved to the late night time slot and died quietly. The 2nd season of VV was followed with a 3rd one which had great ratings again. (There was no BB3.) After the 3rd season of VV ended RTL Klub had the format rested for 6 years. In 2010 they relaunched the format with some changes. VV4 was followed by VV5 in 2011. VV6 started in Winter 2014 on RTL II and the channel continues it with a 7th season in Autumn. RTL Klub sold the format of VV to Czech Republic and Slovakia where the show was called Vyvolení. The Czech VV had 3 seasons while the Slovak had 2. In both countries VyVolení (the chosen one) won the time slot against Big Brother.
• Csillag Születik (A Star Borns): the Hungarian licensed version of Britain's Got Talent. Four seasons have been aired in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012 respectively.
• Fókusz (Focus) is a daily report magazine. It is on the air since the foundation of RTL Klub. (1997)
• Showder Klub is a stand-up comedy show, spin-off of former show of
  Duna
  .
• Házon kívül (Outside the House): a political show, which deals with two or three current political events or social problems every week.
• A Széf: A licensed version of
  Take it or Leave it
  . It began airing during the 2007 fall season.
• XXI. Század (21st Century): a documentary series which usually deals with historical moments which happened in the 20th century. Recordings presented in the show usually originate from the communist era and therefore are black and white. RTL Klub purchases most of the presented material from Hungarian national television (MTV or m1).
• Egy perc és nyersz: (Minute to Win It): It is the licensed version of the American game show Minute to Win It.
• A gyanú árnyékában (Cases of Doubts): It is a
  scripted docu-reality
  series started to air at the spring season of 2012. The series follows a documentary style. Every episodes deals with a family in some kind of trouble. The stories are based on real events. The characters are played by amateur actors. The second season started in the fall of 2012.
• A kód (The Code) is the licensed version of the British game show The Exit List by Balázs Sebestyén. It had aired at the fall season of 2012 every weekday.
• Házasodna a gazda: is the scripted reality series based on the format Farmer Wants a Wife. The first season aired during the fall season of 2012.
• Éjjel-nappal Budapest (Budapest – Night & Day): is a scripted reality series, licensed from German
  RTL II show Berlin Tag & Nacht
  . Airs every weekday at 19.50 since February 2013.
• Kölyökklub (Kid's Club): is a children programme block. Previously, in addition to cartoons, there was also a pirate-themed quiz show, hosted by Rita Jónás. Later, a talk show took its place, which was already hosted by Nóra Ördög, and in which children were also guests, but since July 1, 2006, it has only broadcast cartoons. The program is broadcast on weekends and holidays from 7:00 a.m. The programme had a former weekday companion program, Jó reggelt, skacok! (Good Morning, Guys!).

• Heti Hetes ("The Weekly Seven"): a show where seven known Hungarian comedians (one host and 6 guests) talk about current news, politics and public life. The show was on air from the early years of RTL Klub and the 500th episode was the last to air there. The show moved in 2012's fall to the sister channel
  RTL II
  .
• Legyen Ön is Milliomos: The licensed version of
  RTL II
  before being cancelled again in 2013. Then in 2018, the license of Millionaire was moved to its counterpart channel, TV2.
• Gálvölgyi Show: a parody show hosted by János Gálvölgyi, featuring short sketches which are parodies of TV shows, Hungarian and international celebrities, and commercials. The show also has several regular sketches, such as a conversation between two working-out rich men, which led to the birth of a decade-old Hungarian catchphrase "Gyúrunk vazze'" ("We're working out, damn it").
• Kész Átverés (Total Scam): a show similar to the MTV's Punk'd where the host does pranks on Hungarian and currently visiting celebrities.
• Esti Showder: a very popular talk show being broadcast every second week (except summer) at Thursdays 21:00. It loosely follows the format of NBC's The Tonight Show. The show features an opening session with the host cracking somewhat actualized jokes and rapidfire humorous monologues, followed by a regular session of Design Center, in which the host ironically presents absurd or downright ridiculous products created and sent to the show by viewers. After the design center, the show features a studio music session which presents successful or potentially successful Hungarian bands, and finally the show presents a talk session where Fábry sits down and talks to different Hungarian celebrities. After 11 years the show hasn't returned at the fall season of 2011. Fábry moved the show to m1.
• Celeb vagyok...Ments ki innen!: the licensed version of British TV show
  RTL II
  .
• Vacsoracsata (Dinner Fight): the licensed version of Come Dine with Me.
• Benkő Feleséget Keres (Benkő is looking for a wife): RTL Klub's 2009 fall season reality about a search for a wife for Hungary's scandalous artist, Benkő Dániel.
• Balázs Show: a daily tabloid talk show, which aired every weekday at 16:30. The show followed a slightly more lightened up format than its counterpart, Mónika show. It ended in 2007 after years of success, cited reason being that the host became popular and wanted more serious challenges.
• Mónika Show: a daily tabloid talk show usually featured and tried to resolve family issues. The former Hungarian local authority National Radio and Television Syndicate had often punished the channel belong to highly violent behaviour and bad language used by the guests the show. On 8 August 2012, RTL Klub got a 12-hours break penalty for the show.
• Szombat Esti Láz (Saturday Night Fever): The show is based on the BBC One programme
  RTL II
  .
• Győzike: a documentary-soap about a Hungarian gypsy family. The head of the family called Győző Gáspár, husband and father of two girls, who is a pop/rap singer and he had a band but after the show started in 2005 the band broke up. It used to be a very popular show, bearing similarities to MTV's the Osbournes. It had 7 seasons but the return of the show is unlikely.
• Pókerarc: The Hungarian adaption of the RTL format
  Who wants to be a Millionaire?
  and Balázs Sebestyén (the host of Balázs show and Kész Átverés). The 2nd season started in fall 2008.
• A Kísértés (The Temptation): the licensed version of Temptation Island. The show had one season on RTL Klub in 2004 and had moderate ratings and so it wasn't renewed for a second season.
• A Rettegés Foka (Fear Factor): It is a licensed version of the American Fear Factor. It was cancelled after 2 seasons, reruns however are still aired on Cool TV.
• Survivor – A sziget (Survivor – The Island): the licensed version of the famous hit reality show
  Survivor
  , whose international format rights are held by RTL. RTL Klub aired two seasons. The major difference between the Hungarian Survivor and the original one was the winner was selected by a public vote (via SMS or phone calls).
• Szeszélyes (Capricious): a show similar to long-running Szeszélyes Évszakok (Capricious Seasons). After the cancellation of the original show, RTL Klub launched its own version with the host Imre Antal, which ran until Antal's death of cancer in 2008. The channel didn't renew the license for the show because it had considerably lower ratings than the original.
• Csíííz!: the licensed Hungarian version of America's Funniest Home Videos.
• Jó reggelt, skacok! (Good Morning, Guys): a children programme block. It started on 1 February 2012 and was broadcast every weekday from 5.30am to 7.15am. The broadcaster has previously canceled some shows to cut expenses. Advertisers previously missed a weekday morning children's channel from the national channel. That's how the program started, which is similar to the Kölyöklub program block, with the difference that it has a different look and it's on weekdays. From 18 June to 31 August 2012, the show only ran from 6.40am to 7.30am and only aired two cartoons. It was off air from 24 December 2012 to 1 January 2013. The block was taken off the air on 28 December 2018.

In 2007, Cool launched a series of topical shows produced by the channel, such as Cool Live and Cool Night, featuring younger hosts lent to Cool by RTL Klub. The earlier is a youth lifestyle show, and the latter is an adult show including interviews with Hungarian porn stars and producers, as well as occasionally shown soft-core video clips. As of 29 September 2013[update], these talk shows are cancelled.

In 2009, Cool purchased the airing rights of the successful Hungarian version of