RTL publishes first figures: This is how well the new Stefan Raab show is really being received

Cologne - TV entertainer Stefan Raab (57) has dominated the headlines nationwide in recent weeks. But how successful was the comeback of the "Raabinator" really?

Stefan Raab (57) disappeared from the scene for almost ten years before celebrating his big comeback last week.
Stefan Raab (57) disappeared from the scene for almost ten years before celebrating his big comeback last week.  © Julia Feldhagen/Raab Entertainment/RTL/dpa

The Cologne-based television group RTL has published the click figures for the new Raab show "Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million bei Stefan Raab" on RTL+ for the first time.

"The first show 'DGHNDMBSR' has already been watched over 1.5 million times on RTL+ in the first five days," RTL Program Director Inga Leschek (45) told the industry service dwdl.de.

This makes it "the most successful RTL+ original we have ever launched on RTL+".

"We have already gained as many subscribers with the first show today as we did with our most successful international match and RTL+ one-off event ever," added Leschek.

TV legend Stefan Raab has signed a five-year contract with RTL

The Raab deal is the "smartest thing I've done in my life," says RTL program director Inga Leschek (45).
The Raab deal is the "smartest thing I've done in my life," says RTL program director Inga Leschek (45).  © Marina Rosa Weigl/RTL/dpa

Every day, thousands more subscribers are added because of Stefan Raab's show - 75 percent of them new customers. "And of all new customers, a good 70 percent were men, which is exactly the target group we want to reach with Stefan Raab."

When asked about a possible broadcast of "DGHNDMBSR" on a linear channel with a wider reach, Leschek answers evasively: "Together with Stefan Raab, we have thought very carefully in recent months about how video consumption will change in the coming years and have jointly developed a plan in which RTL+ plays a central role. Because RTL+ is our future."

Bertelsmann is the parent company behind RTL. The streaming subsidiary RTL+ should be profitable by the end of 2026. "And to achieve this, subscriber numbers must continue to grow. We recently had 5.6 million subscribers at the end of the first half of the year, making us by far the largest German streaming service," says Leschek.

The entertainer, who had disappeared from the scene for almost ten years, announced the new format a week and a half ago, surprisingly and at short notice. He had previously quietly signed a five-year contract with the RTL Group.