RTL Group reported stable first‑quarter revenue of €1.3 billion, with organic growth of 2.5% driven by its streaming and content businesses.
Higher streaming and digital advertising revenue offset the continued decline in linear TV advertising across its European markets.
Streaming revenue rose by 27.0% to €141 million, supported by subscriber growth, price increases in Germany and rising advertising income on RTL+ and M6+. The group’s streaming services reached 8.4 million paying subscribers at the end of March, an increase of 18.8% year on year. According to RTL Group, the business delivered its first profitable quarter and remains on track to generate an operating profit of €25 million to €50 million for the full year.
Digital advertising revenue increased by 14.6% to €118 million, compensating nearly half of the 6.5% decline in TV advertising revenue. The media company’s production subsidiary Fremantle recorded stable revenue of €372 million, with organic growth of 4.2% despite negative foreign exchange effects.
RTL Deutschland and Groupe M6 both gained audience and advertising market shares. RTL Deutschland increased its audience share in the 14 to 59 target group to 26.8%, while Groupe M6’s free‑to‑air channels grew their combined share among viewers aged 25 to 49 to 20.6%.
The group continued to expand its streaming footprint through partnerships with HBO Max in Germany and Austria, Amazon Prime Video in France, CH Media in Switzerland and Edeka in Germany. The migration of RTL+ in Germany to the Bedrock technology platform was completed in April and is expected to generate cost savings.
RTL Group also confirmed that the European Commission granted unconditional approval for its acquisition of Sky Deutschland, with closing expected on 1 June. The combination will create a business with around 12.3 million paying subscribers in the DACH region.
The Luxembourg-based company reiterated its full‑year outlook, forecasting revenue of €6.1 billion to €6.2 billion and adjusted EBITA of around €725 million.
The publication of the quarterly figures coincides with a leadership transition. Clément Schwebig, a former Warner Bros. Discovery executive, has taken over as CEO of RTL Group, succeeding Thomas Rabe, who led the group since 2019 and will remain as Executive Director to support the handover.
RTL Group’s Board of Directors has also appointed Alexander von Torklus as the next CFO, succeeding Björn Bauer by the end of September. Bauer will become CFO of global music company BMG.
