RTL Group, Europe’s largest television conglomerate, is going full in on streaming.
First half figures at RTL, released Tuesday, showed sharp growth in revenues — up 27.2 percent to was up 27.2 per cent to $345 million (€299 million) — in the company’s streaming platforms, including RTL+ in Germany and M6+ in France.
The boost made up for declines in RTL’s traditional TV business, where TV advertising revenue fell 4 percent and its production operations, at subsidiary Fremantle, were down 7.7 percent year on year at $964 million (€835 million). (RTL said business at Fremantle would pick up by year end with the roll out of new productions, including its Baywatch reboot).
“Our streaming businesses deliver strong profitability,” said RTL Group CEO Clément Schwebig in a statement. “Sreaming revenue and paid subscriptions continue to grow dynamically. As a result, streaming is now expected to contribute around €100 million ($115 million) to our full-year operating profit.”
RTL’s results are the first since it’s acquisition of pay-TV group Sky Deutschland from Comcast closed June 1. The deal will see Sky Deutschland merge with RTL+, creating a streaming operating with 12.4 million paid subscriptions across Germany, Austria and Switzerland,
“We are now the clear number three in the German-speaking streaming market,” said Schwebig, who called the Sky Deutschland deal “transformational” for RTL.
“We confirm our target to deliver € 250 million ($289 million) in annual synergies within three years. Our transformation strategy is delivering tangible results, and we are executing it with speed and discipline. Including the effects from the Sky Deutschland acquisition, we expect to grow to between €7.1 billion and €7.2 billion ($8.2 billion – $8.3 billion) in full-year revenue with an adjusted EBITA of €725 million ($837 million).”
RTL’s Sky Deutschland acquisition is part of a broader wave of consolidation across the European broadcasting market. Last month, Comcast‘s Sky in the U.K. inked a $2.13 billion (£1.6 billion) deal to acquire the media and entertainment (M&E) unit of commercial broadcast giant ITV.
Last year, MediaForEurope (MFE), the TV group controlled by the Berlusconi family, took majority control of ProSiebenSat.1, Germany’s number two commercial TV group, adding to MFE’s European network stable, that already includes Italy’s largest broadcaster, Mediaset, and Spain’s No. 1 commercial network Telecinco.
The merger mania is on the production side too. On July 9, French production giant Banijay, producers of Peaky Blinders, Big Brother, and MasterChef, joined up with and U.K. production powerhouse All3Media (The Traitors, Squid Game: The Challenge) in a deal with an enterprise value of $8 billion.
French broadcaster TF1 has reportedly put its production and distribution arm, Studio TF1, on the market. A sale the division, formerly known as Newen Studios, could fetch up to $450 million.
And ITV Studios, producers of Love Island and I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, newly independent in the wake of ITV network’s sale to Sky, could also be a takeover target, as well as a potential buyer. All across Europe, the television industry is scrambling to get big quick to avoid dying at the hands of competition from YouTube and the global streaming giants.
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