RTL Group Revenue Down in Absence of American Idol

RTL Group’s Q1 revenue was down 1.9 percent to €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion), solely due to the absence of American Idol, which more than offset higher revenue from Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, Groupe M6 and the growing digital business.

Adjusted for the American Idol effect, RTL Group grew by around 4 percent, in line with the full-year guidance. EBITDA was down by 8.3 percent to €264 million ($287 million), mainly based on lower profit contributions from the football club Girondins de Bordeaux and FremantleMedia. Despite the decrease, this was the second-highest Q1 EBITDA in RTL Group’s history. Net profit attributable to RTL Group shareholders was flat at €137 million ($149 million), thanks to a gain of €14 million ($15 million) from a remeasurement of the fair value of RTL Group’s 75.5 percent interest in the multiplatform network Divimove.

Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s EBITDA was stable at €168 million ($183 million). At Groupe M6, EBITDA decreased to €76 million ($83 million), compared to €90 million ($98 million) in the year-ago period, reflecting lower EBITDA contributions from SND and the football club Girondins de Bordeaux, partly compensated by higher TV advertising.

FremantleMedia’s EBITDA decreased to €13 million ($14 million), compared to Q1 2016’s €19 million ($20.7 million), mainly due to phasing effects and the absence of American Idol. RTL Nederland’s EBITDA was down to €1 million ($1.08 million) from the year ago’s €3 million ($3.3 million), mainly due to lower TV advertising sales. RTL Group’s digital revenue continued to show dynamic growth, up 48.3 percent to €178 million ($194 million).

Bert Habets and Guillaume de Posch, co-CEOs of RTL Group, said: “Following the exceptionally strong first quarter 2016 with an early Easter, we have returned to regular business in the first quarter of 2017. Nonetheless, our profitability remains on a high level and we will continue to significantly invest in digital and content.

“As stated in prior years, the first quarter is not necessarily an indicator for the full year. This is especially true for FremantleMedia. We can only emphasize once more that the content business cannot be managed on a quarterly basis. The launch of American Gods on the U.S. pay-TV channel Starz and on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 territories will have a positive impact on FremantleMedia’s revenue in Q2. RTL Group maintains its outlook for the full year 2017 and expects total group revenue to increase moderately and EBITDA to be broadly stable.”

“We are excited about the launch of American Gods, which is one of FremantleMedia’s signature productions in 2017 and the second major project coming out of the company’s push into drama, following The Young Pope in 2016. Looking at the show’s exceptional audience shares on Starz and great praise from fans and critics alike, FremantleMedia once more created must-see television. Just a few days ago, they announced that American Idol, one of the most iconic shows in TV history, will come back on the U.S. network ABC. Both are proof of what we have said before: exclusive content is the power engine for everything we do in the total video universe.”