Editing RTL Zwei (section)

==History==
RTL II was originally scheduled to begin broadcasting on 26 September 1992; some TV guides were anticipating the channel's launch. However, the channel's launch was delayed until 1993 because LPR Hessen (known as the ''Hessische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk'') repeatedly raised concerns about the channel's shareholder structure to German media authorities. The shares of the channel's initial owners (RTL Television, CLT, Bertelsmann, Burda and FAZ) had to be reduced to below 25% before the licence for the channel could be awarded to RTL.<ref name="infst">Infosat No. 61 (April 1993). "RTL II sendet!", pp. 10.</ref> The channel eventually started broadcasting on 6 March 1993 at 6:09&nbsp;a.m., using what used to be [[Screensport]]'s transponder. (Screensport ceased operations five days earlier as a result of its merger with [[Eurosport]]) on the [[Astra satellite]] service. The first programme on the channel was the movie ''[[Little Miss Marker (1980 film)|Little Miss Marker]]''.

In 2000, RTL II began broadcasting the shows ''[[Popstars (German TV series)|Popstars]]'' and ''[[Big Brother Germany|Big Brother]]''. ''Popstars'' ran on the channel for two seasons before it moved to [[ProSieben]], while ''Big Brother'' continued to air until 2011.

The network began offering a [[video on demand]] service in February 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rtl-interactive.de/cms/presse/news.php?id=1012671|title=Mehr als 1.300 Programmstunden von RTL II im Internet: Neues Video-on-Demand Angebot www.RTL2now.de gestartet|work=RTL Interactive|date=2 February 2012|language=de}}</ref>

As of 7 October 2019, the channel was rebranded as ''RTL'''ZWEI'''''. The number ''2'' was spelt out for the first time in the station's history. The design was developed with the agency ''mehappy GmbH''.<ref>{{cite web |title=RTLZWEI präsentiert neues Design |url=https://www.presseportal.de/pm/6605/4393861 |website=presseportal.de |access-date=7 October 2019 |date=7 October 2019}}</ref>

===Visual identity (logos)===
<gallery>
RTL_2_bis_1996.svg|RTL 2's logo from 6 March 1993 to 6 April 1996; similar to the logo used by [[KGAN]]/[[Cedar Rapids, Iowa|Cedar Rapids]] from 1993 to 2004
Logo rtl2.svg|RTL 2's logo from 6 April 1996 to 1999
Rtl2 logo 2002.svg|The first version of the channel's circular "II" logo was used from 1999 to 2001.
RTL-II-Logo.svg|Updated version of 1999 logo; used from 2001 to 2009
RTL-II-Logo ab Sommer 2009.svg|RTL II's from 2009 to 2019
</gallery>