In 2022, the TV stations experimented again with some new formats and new editions of old classics. However, not all experiments were successful. And programs that previously worked well fell victim to reprogramming. Viewers had to say goodbye to these formats.
A new dance show, this time on roller skates, was launched in October with the RTLzwei format “Skate Fever – Stars auf Rollerskaten”. Unlike the dance show top dog “Let’s Dance”, “Skate Fever” did not feature celebrities and professionals, but pure star pairings. In order to look as good as possible in front of the three-person jury, the roller skate novices were coached by “Starlight Express” professionals, among others. After just two episodes, the show was relegated from Monday prime time to Saturday eve. But she wasn’t convincing there either, which is why viewers of linear television had to say goodbye to the new show format entirely. The last episodes were made available for retrieval on RTL.
“Rent Buy Live” was apparently not able to inspire the RTLzwei viewers either. The new evening format, which was announced as “the first real estate show on German television in which viewers can make their dream home come true by phone call”, was thrown out of the program after seven out of 15 editions. The show presented up to four houses or apartments daily as rental or purchase objects, which were only available for sale on the show and which viewers could secure an appointment for viewing by calling.
RTL also had to struggle with poor ratings for a primetime show. In Show Us Your Voice, formerly I Can See Your Voice, a contestant had to use a celebrity guessing team to guess whether or not a featured singer could sing. The third season was canceled after three episodes aired on Sunday. Instead, the station showed films again. RTL showed the remaining three episodes in the night program.
In 2022, Sat.1 has set itself the task of turning its afternoon program inside out. This included, on the one hand, that “Britt – Der Talk” returned to TV and, on the other hand, that the format “Volles Haus!” soon to start, which will be broadcast live daily from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and with the moderators Jasmin Wagner (42) and Jochen Schropp (44). The broadcaster no longer relies on scripted reality series such as “On Patrol”, “On Patrol – The Specialists”, “Klinik am Südring”, “K11 – Die Neue Falls” and “Lenßen takes over”. The cooking show “double cooks better” had to be before the start of “full house!” from the early evening program and for the show “My husband can”. The format with Alexander Kumptner (39) apparently got bad ratings.
Birgit Schrowange (64) made her TV comeback on Sat.1 with the series “Birgits Starken Frauen” in 2022 after she had stopped at “Extra – Das RTL-Magazine” after around 25 years at the end of 2019. However, Sat.1 discontinued the format after only two episodes. The broadcaster said that in June with a “Too bad!” communicated on Twitter. The new format attracted fewer viewers to the screens than had been hoped. “That’s why we’re going to take the show out of the program with immediate effect,” it said. Five episodes were actually planned.
Some programs celebrated their comeback on TV in 2022, including “7 days, 7 heads”. For the premiere of the new edition of the RTL comedy show, 3.21 million people tuned in in February when Guido Cantz (51) and Co. ripped their smuts. After being moved to the very late Friday evening due to falling ratings, the season ran until the end of April. “There will be no new episodes for the time being,” said an RTL spokesman for “DWDL”, indicating the end of the show. Another format with Guido Cantz was previously discontinued. In “I Bet on You” seven candidates appeared and placed bets. Three celebrity guests had to put money on each bet and assess whether the contestant would win or lose the bet. The second episode, which was scheduled to be broadcast on July 23, 2022, was no longer shown due to poor ratings.
No more blockbusters, but in-house productions: ProSieben started its new Sunday evening in September. In the “Local Hero” show, two opponents per episode got to know the culture, country and people around the world and faced a country duel. On site, they received a crash course in the customs of the respective country from local experts, the so-called “local coaches”, and had to master unusual tasks. But the new format was quickly withdrawn from the program, and football broadcasts can now be seen on Sundays instead. The fact that the program was changed due to the poor ratings for “Local Hero” was not officially communicated.
Other new in-house productions have also been announced for next year’s Sunday, which will take viewers on global adventures. ProSieben boss Daniel Rosemann explained the productions, which include “Mission: Job Unknown”, “World Most Dangerous Roads” and “Country Challenge”: “In the new formats, our viewers can accompany celebrities to places of longing on Sunday evening. Big ones Pictures, exciting stories, tasks and experiences – just dream away at the end of the week.”
Veterans also celebrated farewell in 2022: Jürgen Domian (64) ended his WDR program “Domian live” in 2022. The moderator announced the end in a Facebook post in April. “There will be no continuation of the program on WDR television. Unfortunately, no agreement was reached,” wrote the 64-year-old. He very much regrets this, since many fans would have hoped for the format to continue – “especially now in these serious times,” he added.
Three years after leaving as a night talker at WDR, the cult presenter celebrated his TV comeback in autumn 2019. He was previously known for the telephone talk show “Domian”, which he moderated from 1995 to 2016 for radio station 1Live and WDR. The unique selling point of his show was that he also discussed topics related to shame or pain with his callers. He received several awards for his sensitive moderation, including the Federal Cross of Merit.
