Overview
- RTL removed Gladiators from its 20:15 Friday slot with immediate effect, replacing the broadcast that night with a repeat of the documentary “70 Jahre Bravo.”
- Audience figures plunged after launch, dropping from about 700,000 viewers and a 9.2% target‑group share in the first episode to under 500,000 viewers and a 5.2% share in the second.
- The show will return on October 2 at 23:15 and run after the new season of Ninja Warrior Germany, but each episode will be split by RTL’s midnight Nachtjournal and resume at 0:35.
- Gladiators was produced by RTL Studios in cooperation with Prime Video and presented by Jan Köppen, Laura Wontorra and Frank Buschmann, and its prior availability on Prime Video did not boost audience interest.
- The swift rescheduling highlights RTL’s dependence on primetime ratings for advertising revenue and leaves open what the broadcaster will air in the vacated 20:15 slots on September 18 and 25.