TELE 5

What TELE 5 does

TELE 5 is a German free-to-air television channel operated by Discovery Communications Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of Warner Bros Discovery, headquartered in Munich at Leopoldstrasse 57. The channel serves German-speaking audiences with a niche content proposition focused on cult films, cult series, and science fiction, with Star Trek as a flagship property. Its content library spans horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, and classic TV series such as Doctor Who and Xena, positioning TELE 5 as a genre-focused alternative to mainstream German broadcasters. Distribution is domestic-only (Germany), with no disclosed geographic expansion plans.

The core product is the linear TELE 5 TV channel, broadcast free-to-air with daily programming slots at 15:15 and 18:10, Saturday double episodes, and prime time slots at 20:15 and 22:15. This is complemented by the TELE 5 Mediathek, a free video-on-demand streaming platform accessible via tele5.de/mediathek, which extends content availability beyond linear broadcast windows. Content is available in German-dubbed and original language versions. The underlying technology stack is a standard hybrid of digital broadcast infrastructure and a web-based streaming delivery layer, with no proprietary technology, API, or SDK publicly disclosed. No mobile app is offered.

TELE 5 monetizes exclusively through advertising, with no subscription tier, paywall, or transactional content. Pricing is fully free to viewers. The target audience is a horizontal persona — cult entertainment enthusiasts across Germany — with go-to-market executed through broadcast scheduling, the tele5.de website, the Mediathek, a YouTube channel for video content, and a newsletter for direct audience engagement. As a subsidiary within the Warner Bros Discovery portfolio, TELE 5 benefits from operational leverage and content licensing from sibling channels such as DMAX, TLC, HGTV, Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet, but operates as a domestic-only asset with no AI capabilities, no patent portfolio, no awards, and no M&A activity disclosed in the source data.

Name

TELE 5

Legal name

Discovery Communications Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://tele5.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

TELE 5 is a German free-to-air television channel operated by Discovery Communications Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG (Warner Bros Discovery), providing cult films, cult series, and Star Trek content to German audiences via linear broadcast and online Mediathek streaming, monetized entirely through advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Television Broadcasting

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (516120)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPABAHAD

FAST Linear Streaming Channels (Ad-Supported)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/OTT/FAST Streaming Channels & Virtual MVPDs

Keywords

• Free-to-air television
• Cult entertainment programming
• Video on demand streaming
• Linear TV broadcasting
• Genre television channel

Headquarters

HQ city

Grünwald

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Free-to-air TV channel monetized through advertising. The website displays cookie consent for advertising and marketing purposes, indicating ad-supported revenue model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

TELE 5 is a German free-to-air television channel and online streaming service that broadcasts and streams cult films, cult series, and science fiction content such as Star Trek and Doctor Who. The channel distributes programming through linear TV broadcast and a free online Mediathek (VOD) platform, monetized primarily through advertising. It operates as part of the Warner Bros Discovery channel family alongside DMAX, TLC, HGTV, Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet.

Product overview

TELE 5 ist ein deutsches Free-TV-Unternehmen und Streaming-Plattform, die ein lineares Fernsehprogramm sowie eine kostenlose Mediathek für Video-on-Demand (VOD) anbietet. Das Kernprodukt besteht aus dem linearen TV-Kanal TELE 5, der sich auf Kult-Filme, Kult-Serien und Science-Fiction-Inhalte spezialisiert hat. Die TELE 5 Mediathek ergänzt das Angebot als Streaming-Dienst, der denselben Content auf Abruf bereitstellt. Zusätzlich bietet TELE 5 spezialisierte Content-Kategorien für Filme und Serien sowie einen interaktiven TV-Programmführer an. Das Unternehmen gehört zur Warner Bros. Discovery-Gruppe und ist Teil eines Senderverbunds mit DMAX, TLC, HGTV, Discovery Channel und Animal Planet.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TELE 5 TV Channel

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Discovery Communications Deutschland GmbH & Co. KGcoreOthersParent company that operates TELE 5. The channel is part of the Discovery/Warner Bros Discovery portfolio of channels including DMAX, TLC, HGTV, Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet.
• DMAXminorOthersPart of of Warner Bros Discovery channel family. Cross-promoted as related channel on tele5.de.
• TLCminorOthersPart of Warner Bros Discovery channel family. Cross-promoted as related channel on tele5.de.
• HGTVminorOthersPart of Warner Bros Discovery channel family. Cross-promoted as related channel on tele5.de.
• Discovery ChannelminorOthersPart of Warner Bros Discovery channel family. Cross-promoted as related channel on tele5.de.
• Animal PlanetminorOthersPart of Warner Bros Discovery channel family. Cross-promoted as related channel on tele5.de.
• Warner Bros DiscoverycoreOthersUltimate parent company of TELE 5 through Discovery Communications Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG. TELE 5 copyright and content rights are owned by Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Syfy (Germany): Specialty sci-fi/genre channel from NBCUniversal operating in German pay-TV, offering direct content overlap with TELE 5's cult/sci-fi focus via a different distribution and pricing model.
• ZDFneo: German public broadcaster's younger-skewing linear + Mediathek channel, competing for the same on-demand audience with a non-commercial funding model. Provides a publicly funded benchmark against TELE 5's free ad-supported model.

Direct peers

• DMAX: Sibling channel under Warner Bros Discovery Deutschland, distributed via the same portfolio umbrella and shared cross-promotion on tele5.de. Operates an equivalent free-to-air advertising model.
• Nitro: RTL Group's male-skewing free-to-air channel targeting action/genre content. Closest demographic and content-positioning analog to TELE 5 within the German FTA market.
• VOX: German free-to-air broadcaster (RTL Group) targeting a similar mainstream entertainment audience. Competes with TELE 5 for German ad spend and viewer time.
• RTL Television: Germany's largest private free-to-air broadcaster (RTL Group), offering comparable ad-supported linear and streaming (RTL+) distribution. Direct competitor for German TV ad budgets.
• SAT.1: German free-to-air TV channel in the ProSiebenSat.1 family, directly competing with TELE 5 for German households. Uses a comparable linear + online Mediathek (Joyn) distribution model.
• Kabel Eins: German free-to-air channel targeting a male-skewing, mainstream entertainment audience — close demographic cousin to TELE 5. Part of ProSiebenSat.1 and distributed via Joyn.
• TLC (Germany): Sibling Warner Bros Discovery channel with shared cross-promotion infrastructure on tele5.de, operating the same free-to-air ad-supported business model in Germany.
• ProSieben: Major German free-to-air broadcaster owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media, competing with TELE 5 for German linear advertising budgets and viewer attention. Operates similar hybrid linear + MediathekP7 distribution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/tele5
• Xx.com/tele5
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tele-5---tm---tv-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TELE 5