Lubach‘s Show Pauses, Setโ for olympic Games Return Despite โขHigh Production โขCosts
Arjenโ Lubach’s popular late-night program has entered a winter hiatus โfollowing its season finale on December 22nd, withโ the show slated to return on โคFebruary 2nd, โcoinciding โฃwith coverage of the Olympic Games.โข The break allows Lubach to enjoy a substantial salary from RTL, according to reports. The finale,โค which included a Christmas song and a hopefulโฃ nod towards a potential “Christmas โคcabinet,” drew an โaudience of 699,000 viewers.
The timingโ of Lubach’s return isโค noteworthy, โaccording to media analyst Tina Nijkamp, given the program’s significantโ production expense. “They are nowโฃ going on winter vacation and he will return โonโ February 2nd. So heโฃ will also be on display duringโข the Olympic Games,” โคNijkamp stated on her instagramโ analysis channel.
Lubach’s showโ is โขestimated to cost approximately 80,000 โeuros for each half-hour episodeโ – considerably more than typical talk shows. Nijkamp compared the costโค to RTL Tonight, which โruns between 35,000โฃ and 40,000 euros perโ episode without a host, and approximately 70,000 euros including a โขhost.
Despite the โคhigh โคcost, the program’s broadcast during the Olympics is considered a strategic move. โNijkamp observed, “Those matches are until 10 โp.m., soโ its just after, but everyone is always โon NPO 1 with those kinds โof sporting events.” This suggests a intentional scheduling choice to capitalize โขon the large viewership expected during the Games.