Der Tagesspiegel

8,98 million viewers

The Swiss "CRIME SCENE/TATORT" – record viewers, mixed reactions

Until recently, the ARD saw the "CRIME SCENE" from Switzerland as a routine task. Before the summer hiatus, Delia Mayer and Stefan Gubser reported the series had just over six million viewers. Last Sunday, however, this number rose steeply: 8.96 million viewers saw the first "CRIME SCENE" after the summer break.

Apparently the popularity of inspector Flueckiger and his colleague is increasing. The nearly eight million viewers are a record in the four years of the ARD series. What is also clear is that the fans crave something new after weeks of reruns. The market share was 26.7 per cent, and the series was also the leader among 14- to 49-year-olds with 2.57 million viewers and 20.7 per cent.

"CRIME SCENE: You're being judged" has triggered mixed reactions online. "I never liked the Swiss CRIME SCENE / TATORT so far. Yesterday, I changed my mind," wrote a Twitter user after the broadcast. Others found the crime series "even more exciting". There were many reactions, especially to the graphic scenes. The killer, played by Antoine Monot Jr., goes to work with sniper rifles and projectiles: skulls break, brains squirt. "Too much brain matter in a close-up can spoil the evening," twittered a user. Some took it more lightly: "After # Schweiger- # CRIME SCENE they said more brain, less dead. But it's still not working," wrote a user. "In any case, a CRIME SCENE with lots of brains," another wrote.

Many people linked the perpetrator Monot with his role as a tech nick in the advertising of an electronics wholesale market. "I'll never get in a Saturn without a bullet-proof vest again," one user twittered. Another wrote, "If I had known that the tech nick had so many personal issues..." After the episode aired, Monot himself thanked viewers for their reactions on Twitter: "Hey dears! Thanks for the congratulations and opinions on the new #CRIME SCENE from Lucerne. I was very happy!" the actor wrote.

The first runner-up of the Sunday CRIME SCENE was a rerun, a Rosamunde-Pilcher slush on ZDF: 4.69 million viewers with 14.0 per cent market share. The second was the "Today Journal" with 5.51 million viewers, making it the most-watched ZDF broadcast of the day.

Beckenbauer bio with 3.21 million viewers

The Frank Beckenbauer bio could not compare to the "CRIME SCENE", but still did pretty well with 3.21 million viewers as well as 13.0 per cent market share. Among 14- to 49-year-olds, "Football - The Life of Frank Beckenbauer" recorded a remarkable 9.0 percent.

RTL is showing an upward trend. Only 4.25 million spectators switched on the race in Spa 14 days ago, but in Monza this has climbed to 4.93 million. This is up from 2014: at the time the Italian Grand Prix was one of the weakest in the season with 4.07 million.

original text by: Dr. Joachim Huber

Outlet: Tagesspiegel (Germany)
Date: November 20th, 2012 Circulation: 109.000 (daily newspaper)

Tagesspiegel is a national daily founded in 1945 in Berlin. Alongside the Berliner Zeitung, it has the highest circulation among Berlin subscription papers. Most of its readers live in the western districts of the city, unlike those of the Zeitung. Tagesspiegel is available throughout Germany.