A significant disappointment for RTL 4: the daily dating show B&B Vol Liefde premiered last night at a new time slot but with much lower viewer ratings than before. “That’s shocking.”
© RTL
It’s a convenient and low-cost approach for RTL 4 to air B&B Vol Liefde throughout the summer. This year, the dating show began later than usual, at 20:55, due to the previous quiz show — Ik Weet Er Alles Van — running long. While the Ruben Nicolai show attracted 815,000 viewers, the dating show that followed garnered 908,000.
“This is Shocking!”
These numbers are decent for summer, but how do they compare to previous years? “B&B Vol Liefde started much lower than in previous years. It now begins 25 minutes later, which doesn’t help, but the decline is significant. And that’s shocking,” remarks TV authority Tina Nijkamp on her analysis channel.
She continues, “About 500,000 viewers less than the start in 2024 and 2025: then over 1.4 million linearly. A huge difference. More than a third less.”
What Does RTL Say?
Is there indeed panic at RTL? Not according to a spokesperson speaking to NU.nl. “We are very happy with the start of the new season. The so-called day 0 figures represent just a portion of viewing behavior.”
The spokesperson states, “More and more people are choosing to watch programs at their convenience. That’s why we look at the total reach across all viewing forms: live, linear, delayed, and streaming.”
Vacation Show
Another setback for RTL 4; the late night programming is also underwhelming. The new daily show, Nederland met Vakantie, started with only 330,000 viewers.
Tina concludes: “Ouch. A very weak start. RTL Tonight numbers. Also lower than Shownieuws.”
As summer progresses, RTL faces the challenge of adapting their programming strategy to modern viewing habits. Only time will tell if these numbers improve or continue to decline.
