Record €1.5 Billion Profit for RTL Group

On revenues that were up 10.3 percent to €6.6 billion ($7.3 billion), RTL Group posted a record full-year profit of €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion), with gains across advertising, streaming and Fremantle.

TV advertising revenues at the European media group rose by 16 percent in the year (10.7 percent in Q4), while streaming revenues were up 31.2 percent to €223 million. Fremantle’s revenues were up 25.3 percent.

Touting the results, CEO Thomas Rabe noted, “We have also made significant progress in executing our strategy to establish national cross-media champions. Major consolidation moves in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Croatia will create significant value for RTL Group’s shareholders and stronger positions to compete with the global tech and streaming platforms.

“RTL Group’s growth businesses of streaming and content progressed significantly in 2021, with more than 3.8 million paying subscribers for RTL+ and Videoland, and 81 new drama productions from Fremantle. We have significantly raised our streaming targets. Compared to 2021, we plan to triple the annual content investments to around €600 million by 2026. On this basis, we aim to grow the number of paying subscribers for RTL+ and Videoland to 10 million by the end of 2026, to increase our streaming revenue to €1 billion and to reach profitability in 2026. In 2022, we will expand RTL+ to become a cross-media entertainment service, comprising video, music, podcasts, audio books and e-magazines. This will add significantly to the growth of RTL+. In addition, we will accelerate the expansion of our content production business, Fremantle, both organically and via M&A, with a revenue target of €3 billion by 2025.”

For 2022, RTL Group is projecting revenues of €7.4 billion.