RTL Group leans heavily on streaming to offset TV decline and boost profits

RTL Group announced that streaming revenue rose 27.2% to $345 million, driven by its RTL+ service in Germany and M6+ in France. This growth compensated for a 4% decline in TV advertising and a 7.7% drop in production earnings at Fremantle, which reported $964 million. CEO Clément Schwebig highlighted that streaming is expected to contribute roughly €100 million to the year’s operating profit.

The results come after RTL completed the acquisition of Sky Deutschland from Comcast, merging it with RTL+ to reach 12.4 million paid subscribers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, positioning the group as the third-largest streamer in the region. Schwebig called the deal transformational and reaffirmed a goal of €250 million in annual synergies within three years. Including the Sky deal, RTL projects full-year revenue of €7.1-7.2 billion and adjusted EBITA of €725 million.