The number of paying subscribers for RTL Group’s steaming services increased by 73.8% in 2021.
As of the end of the year, according to the company in its latest set of results, the total stood at 3.804 million in Germany and the Netherlands. In Germany, the number receiving RTL+ more than doubled to 2.712 million compared to 1.286 million at the end of December 2020.
The strategic partnership with Deutsche Telekom to bundle RTL+ Premium in Magenta TV and the growing number of original formats such as Sisi contributed significantly to the growth.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, the number of paying subscribers for Videoland grew 20.9% to 1.092 million compared to 0.903 million at the end of December 2020, partly thanks to the third season of the Videoland original series Mocro Maffia and the reality format Temptation Island.
RTL Group aims to have 10 million paying subscribers and €1 billion in revenues for its streaming services in 2026. Its content spend is expected to almost triple, from €209 million to around €600 million, over the same period, and profitability is also expected in 2026.
RTL Group as a whole had revenues of €6,637 million in 2021, up 10.3% on a year earlier. Its streaming revenues were 31.2% higher at €223 million.
Adjusted EBITA rose by 35.1% to €1,152 million and group profit reached a record €1,454 million, up from €625 million in 2020.
