Tag: Thomas Rabe

Stephan Schmitter has been named to the management board at RTL Deutschland, taking on the post of managing director of programming.

For the first nine months of the year, revenues at RTL Group rose by 12 percent to €5 billion, driven largely by gains at Fremantle as well as a boost in streaming subs.

Revenues for the first half of the year at RTL Group rose by 8.7 percent to €3.3 billion ($3.4 billion), a new record for the company, but profit dropped to €304 million ($314 million) and the company has revised its 2022 outlook due to the “challenging macroeconomic environment.”

RTL Group CEO Thomas Rabe talks about the company’s work with advertisers, Fremantle’s content offering and the business opportunities that have arisen from increased viewing during the pandemic.

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.

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.

RTL Group saw the number of paying subscribers for its streaming services TV Now and Videoland rise by 71 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.

While year-on-year revenues were down 9.5 percent, RTL Group reported a rebound in television advertising in the second half of 2020.

RTL Group reported stronger than expected ad revenues in the third quarter and is forecasting its total revenues for this year will be around €5.8 billion ($6.8 billion).

For the six months ended June 30, 2020, RTL Group's revenues were down 16.4 percent to €2.7 billion amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the company reported gains in market share and an increase in paying subs for its streaming services.