RTL Deutschland and YouTube expand ties to generate millions in revenue

RTL Deutschland and YouTube are expanding their commercial ties, generating tens of millions of euros in additional revenue and aiming for a combined growth path through 2030, dwdl.de reported. Appearing together at the MIPCOM television market in Cannes, RTL Deutschland CEO Stephan Schmitter and YouTube Europe boss Pedro Pina framed the platform not as an adversary for traditional broadcasters, but as an essential channel for audience reach and business transformation.

Reaching Younger Viewers Through Existing Content

To capture younger demographics, RTL has placed approximately 200 older episodes of the action series Alarm für Cobra 11 on YouTube. Content that generated little remaining value inside the broadcaster’s own ecosystem after decades of evaluation has since accumulated 30 million views over the course of a year on YouTube. According to company figures reported by dwdl.de, that audience is 83 percent male with an average age of roughly 30.

Monetization and Cross-Platform Experimentation

YouTube Europe chief Pedro Pina emphasized that the video platform does not invest in producing such content itself, instead granting producers and rights holders direct access to its audience. RTL maintains control over upload decisions, removal choices, and monetization strategies. YouTube splits more than half of the advertising revenue generated by the videos with its publishing partners.

Commercial execution is managed by RTL’s Ad Alliance, allowing advertisers to purchase inventory spanning linear television, RTL+, Sky, and YouTube. Schmitter noted that additional YouTube revenues now sit in the double-digit million range. Planned cross-platform experiments include broadcasting five to ten minutes of a football match exclusively on YouTube before steering viewers to RTL+ or Sky to watch the full event.