Fremantle’s Q1 revenue drops 9%, advertising & streaming growth fuels RTL Group

Nightsleeper (Source: Fremantle)

Fremantle made a stuttering start to 2024 with revenues declining almost 10%, but parent company RTL Group has benefited from a resurgent advertising market and streaming growth.

The year-on-year decline at Fremantle of 9.2% took Q1 revenue to €395m ($424m) and was blamed on “timing effects” for shows launching in Europe, with Fremantle pointing to a more positive outlook for the year to come.

Thomas Rabe

Revenue has been key metric for Fremantle over recent years, after it set itself a target to hit €3m by 2025.

The deadline to hit that target was subsequently pushed back to 2026, after the company saw its 2023 revenues fall by 3.5% in 2023. It is, however, aiming to hit a €750m revenue target from streaming by 2026.

Fremantle provided a more positive outlook for Q2, with shows such as The Responder on the UK’s BBC and a new version of Race To Survive for USA Network aiding revenues.

RTL has invested heavily in Fremantle over the past four years, most recently spending €200m on Asacha Media Group and Beach House Pictures.

RTL growth & confidence

Across the RTL Group, results were buoyant with Q1 revenues up almost 3% to €1.3bn. The company pointed to “significantly higher TV advertising and streaming revenue”, with ad sales up 10% to €686m.

The majority of that revenue (€528m) came from TV sales, while digital revenue hit €80m, up from €70m a year ago.

The Responder

RTL, which is home to streamers including RTL+ and the new M6+ service in France, also reported paying subscriber growth of 24%, up to six million, while streaming revenue rose 41% to €86m.

The results pushed RTL into increasing its annual revenue target to €6.6bn, while its EBITA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes and Amortization) target has been cut slightly to around €750m as the cost of streaming services and content costs rise.

RTL CEO Thomas Rabe said: “We have strengthened our leading audience and advertising positions in Germany and continued the dynamic growth of our streaming business.

“Our first-quarter results confirm our strategy of investing through the cycle,” he added, highlighting shows such as BBC thriller Nightsleeper and season 19 of America’s Got Talent.