German reality series “Diese Ochsenknechts” flops on RTL after Sky transfer

The reality‑documentary series “Diese Ochsenknechts”, originally a Sky Original, began airing its fifth season on RTL's free‑to‑air channel on Sundays at 19:05. The debut attracted only 0.57 million viewers, delivering a 5.2 % market share (3.3 % overall rating) – a sharp drop from the 2.19 million audience RTL Aktuell typically draws in the same slot.

Analysts pointed to several factors: the episode had already premiered on Sky earlier in the spring and was available on streaming services, limiting novelty for the core audience; the Sunday‑evening slot traditionally favors factual programmes or sports rather than documentary‑soap formats; and the show’s target demographic had likely already consumed the content online.

The poor performance highlights the challenges of moving a successful pay‑TV format to linear broadcast, despite the partnership between Sky and RTL to share ownership of the title.