RTL District

RTL District is a Belgian television channel specialized in true crime programming (reality shows and criminal television series) with seven hours of new programming a day; it is the first Walloon channel to launch in five years.^[1]

RTL District

Country	Belgium
Broadcast area	Belgium
Programming
Language(s)	French
Picture format	720p HDTV
Ownership
Owner	DPG Media (50%) Groupe Rossel (50%)
Parent	RTL Belgium
Sister channels	RTL-TVI, RTL Club, RTL Plug
History
Launched	18 November 2024; 8 months ago (2024-11-18)

History

On 6 November 2024, RTL Belgium announced the launch of its fourth channel, RTL District, with the launch date set for 18 November at 16:30. The channel was made available on the five main providers (Proximus, Base TV, Telenet, Orange TV and VOO) from launch.^[1] The channel was created due to years of demand for an all-crime network, as the programmes attract a high number of viewers on the main channel.^[2]

Programming

The channel is modelled on foreign crime channels, such as the French Crime District.^[2] Conceived as "a city under permanent tension",^[3] RTL District's aesthetic is centered around a crime-stricken city, with each of the programming blocks representing an individual district:^[4]

• Les liens du sang (Blood Ties)
• Les gardiens de la loi (Guardians of the Law)
• Maîtres du crime (Crime Masters)
• Planète police (Police Planet, dedicated to US crime series)
• Quartier des affaires urgentes (Emergency Unit)

Most of its programming consists of reruns of criminal programmes and documentaries produced for the main RTL-TVI channel, such as Un crime parfait, Portraits de tueurs, Appels d'urgence and 112 Helico d'urgence.^[4][5] The daily schedule is built taking into account a block of new programming from 16:30 to 23:30 Mondays to Thursdays and 16:30 to 23:00 Fridays to Sundays. The rest of the schedule consists of reruns, with the last few hours before the evening schedule consisting of highlights of the channel's programming.^[1] One notable exception is RTL-TVI's Face au juge, which cannot be seen on RTL District because channel director Julie Denayer, a regular in RTL-TVI's criminal and legal programming, doesn't have the goal of relaying the programme, and also out of respect to some of the people who appeared.^[2]

In addition to the Belgian output, the channel airs US crime series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Criminal Minds and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.^[2]

Starting from February 2025, RTL District broadcasts a live stream of the newly created Contact Max radio station during off-hours.^[6]