Unpacking the problem & promise of Germany’s TV market

Germany has long been Europe’s TV powerhouse. It’s the continent’s largest television market, with nearly 40 million households, and has a deep-rooted public broadcasting tradition as well as a commercial sector that has produced some of the biggest media brands in Europe.

But despite its size, Germany is oddly behind in the shift to IP-delivered television.

While the UK, France, and the Nordics are racing toward streaming dominance, Germany remains stubbornly tied to legacy broadcast and cable models.

It’s not that Germans don’t stream - Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ have all carved out sizable audiences. And local players like RTL+ and Joyn are investing in digital. But the numbers tell a clear story: traditional linear TV and cable still rule.

According to recent data, nearly 70% of German households still rely primarily on satellite or cable, compared to just 40% in the UK. Even free-TV streaming, an area where ad-funded models should be thriving, is playing catch-up compared to markets like the US.

So, what are the issues that are holding up progress in Germany? I think we can point to five main points:

A deeply embedded broadcast culture

Germany’s public broadcasters, ARD and ZDF, have been national institutions for decades, commanding enormous reach and credibility. These networks, funded by the mandatory Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcasting fee), still drive massive viewership, particularly among older audiences. Even younger Germans, who elsewhere might have already cut the cord, often tune in via the free-to-air model.

This means that while streaming in other countries has eroded traditional TV dominance, in Germany, the public system remains strong, making the transition feel less urgent.

The cable legacy

Germany’s cable infrastructure is another major factor. While much of Europe moved to IPTV years ago, German cable companies held onto their subscriber bases longer than expected, thanks in part to deeply entrenched bundling practices. In many apartment buildings, cable TV fees are baked into rent or building agreements, keeping customers locked in even if they’d prefer to switch to streaming. It’s only recently that regulations have started to break up this system, but change takes time.

This opened up new opportunities for OTT and IPTV players such as Zattoo, WaipuTV, O2, and Magenta (Deutsche Telekom). However, only a few of them are able to work with dynamic ad insertion and others that have just launched their TV services need to build their subscriber basis from scratch. Also worth noting that Vodafone Germany, the country’s largest cable operator, has launched FAST with 7 channels on their IPTV product called GigaTV.

A formidable satellite market

What a lot of people underestimate is that in Germany approximately 16.5m households - nearly half of all TV households in the country - receive their linear TV via satellite, according to an October 2024 study from telco giant SES. (This is predominately via ASTRA although Hotbird plays a significant role.)

There are initiatives out there, such as HD+ from SES Astra and SatTV from Eutelsat, which combine broadband and broadcast, but all are in the early stages and need more marketing to be adopted widely. In an ideal world, these player would combine the TV products via SAT (GEO) and broadband via their LEO Satellites to have a competitive bundle against other players.

A fragmented digital market

Germany has no shortage of streaming players, but the market is messy. RTL+ is certainly the local hero and is competing for local dominance, while Sky Deutschland has struggled to find its place in an increasingly on-demand world.

Add in ARD/ZDF’s online presence, plus global players like Netflix and Prime Video, and you have a landscape where no single streaming brand commands the market like iPlayer in the UK or France’s MyTF1. Then there is Joyn, which is struggling with ownership and shareholder volatility.

The German consumer mindset

Culturally, Germans tend to be more privacy-conscious and skeptical of major digital shifts. There’s a general resistance to algorithmic recommendations, and many viewers still prefer the familiar programming grids of linear TV. Add in strong data protection laws that limit hyper-targeted advertising (a key advantage of streaming services elsewhere), and the incentive for broadcasters to move aggressively toward digital declines.

And then there’s price sensitivity. Germans, on the whole, are reluctant to pay for entertainment they can get for free. Unlike in the US or UK, where cable cord-cutters happily pay for multiple streaming subscriptions, many Germans expect their main TV content to be freely available through public broadcasters and traditional ad-supported networks. Our own wedotv has made steady strides in Germany for this reason, but it has taken several years. Our free, ad-supported content mirrors the familiar experience Germans are used to with broadcast and cable, but we’ve have been challenged to work with multiple platforms using technologies like HbbTV to make headway.

The way forward

Despite these hurdles, the tide is turning. Regulations are forcing landlords to unbundle cable fees, younger audiences are increasingly bypassing traditional TV, and streaming platforms - especially FAST (free ad-supported TV) services - are gaining traction. RTL+ is expanding its offerings, Joyn is aiming to solidify its place in the market as the super streamer, and Vodafone is dipping its large toe in the streaming market too.

For international players eyeing Germany, the key is patience and adaptation. Success will come not from trying to replicate US or UK models but from understanding German viewing habits and working within them. The challenge for local broadcasters is to evolve without alienating their still-substantial linear audiences.

And then there is the underserved satellite market with 14+ million homes. Even if this is shrinking by 10% every year, it is still a significant number that needs to be addressed.

But there also new technologies being tested now that could make a significant impact on the progress the German and European TV market makes relative to the rest of Europe. The new Digital Video Broadcasting - Internet (DVB-I) standard is currently being tested in European markets and is one of the more promising technologies for delivering live and on-demand television across all platforms. With DVB-I, viewers can seamlessly find and watch television content whether its delivered over terrestrial, satellite, or cable broadcast and any kind of broadband network, including fiber, 5G and more.

Germany may not be leading the streaming revolution, but as the inevitable shift continues, it remains the biggest prize in European TV.

Philipp Rotermund is chief exec and co-founder at AVOD and Fast TV service Wedotv