‘IBES’ And Super Bowl Deliver Top Ratings For RTL
Strong market shares for “Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!” (IBES) in primetime and the NFL final overnight.
Two major TV highlights – each enough to fill an entire evening on their own – aired back to back on RTL yesterday evening and overnight. Both delivered strong ratings. First, Gil Ofarim won the viewer vote and was crowned the 2026 winner on “Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!” (“I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here!”), taking home a €100,000 winner’s prize. This was followed by the Seattle Seahawks’ victory over the New England Patriots at Super Bowl 2026 in the U.S. RTL emerged as the unchallenged market leader in German television for both live broadcasts.
RTL’s Australian jungle run ended last night with a new high. The 19th edition of “Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!” concluded with a season record in the total audience. According to RTL, the grand finale attracted 5.15 million viewers, representing a 20.9 percent market share in the total audience. At its peak, reach climbed to as many as 5.75 million viewers.
RTL also clearly outperformed the competition in its key target groups. The popular format dominated Sunday evening with a 30.5 percent market share among 14- to 59-year-olds and 33.8 percent among 14- to 49-year-olds. The finale thus outperformed the 2025 edition, which also aired at 8:15 p.m., in all three target groups. Regardless of start time, RTL says it was the most successful “IBES” finale since 2022.
The broadcaster’s jungle format maintained a strong showing throughout the season. An average of 4.40 million viewers followed the 17 episodes, equating to an 18.0 percent market share in the total audience. The show averaged a 28.4 percent market share among 14- to 59-year-olds and 32.5 percent among 14- to 49-year-olds.
Exceptional market shares for Super Bowl LX
Overnight, the Seattle Seahawks claimed a second “crown” live on RTL, resulting in exceptional market shares. As early as the first quarter, the thrilling Seahawks victory drew 41.2 percent of the 14- to 59-year-old market and 50.8 percent among 14- to 49-year-olds. The NFL final, broadcast live from San Francisco, continued to gain momentum in the second quarter, pushing market shares to 46.1 percent among 14- to 59-year-olds and 55.1 percent among 14- to 49-year-olds. As many as 1.87 million football fans stayed tuned well into the night. Full figures, including those for the second half, will be available tomorrow morning. BENET will report in more detail on RTL’s NFL season shortly.
Returning to “Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!”: On Saturday evening, 4.22 million viewers aged three and over watched day 16 of the RTL jungle camp, with reach climbing as high as 4.86 million. The live broadcast drew 28.2 percent of the 14- to 59-year-old market and 31.1 percent of 14- to 49-year-olds. This represented gains over the previous day in all three target groups and exceeded both episode 16 of the previous year and the prior week’s level. RTL thus secured primetime market leadership among both 14- to 59-year-olds and 14- to 49-year-olds.
On Friday, 3.97 million viewers aged three and over tuned in to IBES, with reach peaking at 4.56 million. The live broadcast scored a 25.4 percent market share among 14- to 59-year-olds and 28.1 percent among 14- to 49-year-olds. RTL led the primetime market in both target groups on Friday as well.
