RTL Group Delivers Q3 Gains

With a rebound in ad revenues, a bump in streaming revenues and gains at Fremantle, third-quarter revenues at RTL Group were up 4 percent to €1.45 billion.

For the first nine months of the year, meanwhile, revenues were up 10.3 percent to €4.5 billion, with ad revenues up 19 percent to €2.5 billion, Fremantle revenues up 24.4 percent to €1.3 billion and streaming up 30.6 percent to €162 million.

In Q3, RTL Group saw its TV advertising revenues rise by 15.7 percent, while revenues at Fremantle rose by 15.4 percent and streaming surged by 25 percent. Paying subs to the RTL+ and Videoland platforms rose to 3.4 million. The company is now targeting 10 million streaming subs by end-2026, with €1 billion in streaming revenues. RTL Group says it will triple the annual content investments for its streaming services to around €600 million by 2026.

“In the third quarter of 2021, RTL Group continued to perform strongly,” said CEO Thomas Rabe. “Revenue grew by 17.2 percent organically in the first nine months of the year, thanks to the ongoing recovery of TV advertising markets and our growth businesses of content and streaming. Following the launch of our new brand identity, we rebranded our German streaming service to RTL+ as of today, with a growing number of original formats across all genres. In the first half of 2022, we will expand RTL+ to a cross-media entertainment service, comprising video, music, podcasts, audiobooks and e-magazines. We will create Germany’s first cross-media champion, offering our audiences the most diverse spectrum of high-quality entertainment and independent information.”

Rabe continued, “With the rapid growth of our streaming services and the planned cross-media expansion of RTL+, we have significantly raised our streaming targets. Compared to 2021, we will triple the annual content investments to around €600 million by 2026. We aim to grow the number of paying subscribers for RTL+ and Videoland to 10 million by the end of 2026, to grow our streaming revenue to €1 billion and to reach profitability of the two services by 2026.

“RTL Group has defined clear targets for its growth businesses of streaming, addressable TV advertising and content—and we will have the financial flexibility and capabilities to further boost these businesses to create value for our viewers, clients and shareholders.”