TV & Streaming Lift RTL Group Results

In the first half of the year, revenues at RTL Group inched up by 1.8 percent to €2.9 billion ($3.2 billion), with group profit surging by 31.1 percent to €173 million ($189 million).

Television advertising revenues rose by 4.7 percent to €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion). Streaming revenues gained 41.9 percent to €185 million ($202 million), with the company serving 6.3 million paying subs across RTL+ in Germany and Hungary and M6+ in France. Distribution revenues were up 7.3 percent to €177 million ($193 million). Fremantle’s revenues, meanwhile, fell to €957 million (€1 billion)

“We have made significant progress in executing our strategy and transforming our businesses by investing, partnering and co-operating more than ever before,” said CEO Thomas Rabe. “As a result, our TV audience performances were strong and our streaming services grew dynamically in the first six months of the year. RTL+ increased its viewing hours by almost 50 percent across all age groups, and M6+ launched successfully. We are on track to reach our long-term streaming targets and thus profitability by 2026. Our partnerships with Deutsche Telekom and Sky Deutschland are working well, and the advertising technology partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 will start soon. With the planned migration of RTL+ to the Bedrock platform, we are creating a true European champion in streaming technology. With the acquisitions of Asacha Media Group and Beach House Pictures, we have invested €200 million to further expand our global content business Fremantle. Overall, our financial performance in the first half of 2024 was in line with our expectations, and we confirm our full-year guidance.”