Television : GNTM versus Dschungelcamp: RTL launches direct attack on the competition
At GNTM they like to say: That has never happened before! But a novelty at the start of the season was certainly not welcome ProSieben. This premiere was thrust upon the channel by rival RTL.
On Thursday, the 3. February it goes off with the meanwhile 17. Season of Germany’s next Topmodel. As always, the show begins in prime time at 20.15 o’clock. That one already knows. The fans are used to that. For some viewers, however, it may be an unusually difficult decision whether they want to watch the opener with Heidi Klum and the new models on the first broadcast. Because the competition from RTL is putting pressure on GNTM this year.
Contrary to every tradition from the many years before, the jungle camp now also goes on Thursday at 20.15 o’clock to the start. Two of Germany’s biggest TV formats are running simultaneously, although it wasn’t initially planned that way.
Why can Dschungelcamp and GNTM 2022 run in parallel?
In the past, there has not been a serious question about whether the jungle camp could start so early in the middle of the week. But the circumstances have changed due to the Corona pandemic. While RTL was able to hoist its ratings hit back into the program this year, after a modest replacement had to serve in 2021. A camp in Australia, however, there is not. Instead, the show is broadcast from South Africa.
This is the key to the current decision, which RTL presumably also made with GNTM in mind. Since part of the daily jungle camp broadcast is always live, it always had to drag on until later in the evening. RTL could not get past the time shift.
But now South Africa and Central Europe are in neighboring time zones. The station can therefore start the attack on the competition.
GNTM versus Dschungelcamp is all about the ratings
A start on Thursday at 20.15 o’clock was not announced, but was decided by RTL shortly after the start of this year’s jungle camp. This is not good news at all for ProSieben and GNTM 2022. Anyone interested in both shows would have good reason to tune in to South Africa. Because with Heidi Klum nothing is live. Germany’s next Topmodel is produced with a long lead time. You could also watch this later, while you possibly miss the very current scandals on RTL.
Whether the jungle camp makers had already secretly planned to steal a few viewers from GNTM beforehand, of course, remains speculation. Fact is: The audience rating is worth cash money for the broadcasters. And possibly one of the TV hits will fall by the wayside that day.