European Broadcast Giant RTL Group Bets on Streaming to Fuel Growth
RTL Group, Europe's largest broadcaster and parent of production giant Fremantle, has reported strong streaming growth in its first-half 2026 results, offsetting weakness in traditional TV advertising and production. The figures, released on Tuesday, mark the company's first results since completing its acquisition of Sky Deutschland from Comcast on 1 June, a deal it is banking on to cement its position in the German-speaking streaming market and drive future growth.
Revenue from RTL's streaming platforms, including RTL+ in Germany and M6+ in France, rose 27.2% to €299 million ($345 million), while TV advertising revenue fell 4% and Fremantle's production revenue dropped 7.7% year-on-year to €835 million ($964 million), which RTL attributed partly to timing, expecting a pickup with new shows including a Baywatch reboot. CEO Clément Schwebig said streaming is now expected to contribute around €100 million ($115 million) to full-year operating profit, and that the Sky Deutschland merger with RTL+ creates a streaming business with 12.4 million paid subscribers across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, making RTL the clear number three player in that market. The group reaffirmed a target of €250 million ($289 million) in annual synergies within three years and forecast full-year revenue of €7.1–7.2 billion ($8.2–8.3 billion) with adjusted EBITA of €725 million ($837 million).
- RTL Group's streaming revenue jumped 27.2% in first-half 2026 results.
- Sky Deutschland deal creates 12.4 million-subscriber streaming business in DACH region.
- Traditional TV advertising and Fremantle production revenue both declined.
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RTL Group is Europe's biggest broadcaster, built around free-to-air television channels in countries such as Germany and France, and it also owns Fremantle, one of the world's largest TV production companies behind shows sold to networks worldwide. Like most traditional broadcasters, it has been trying to adapt as viewers shift from scheduled TV to streaming, building up its own services such as RTL+ in Germany and M6+ in France to compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney+.
A major part of that push is a deal completed in June 2026 to acquire Sky Deutschland, the German pay-TV and streaming operation, from the American media company Comcast. Combining Sky Deutschland with RTL+ gives the group a much larger streaming subscriber base in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, an area where it has previously lagged behind bigger rivals.
This matters because it reflects a wider struggle across the television industry, where advertising revenue and traditional production work have been declining while companies race to build profitable streaming businesses instead. RTL's results are being watched as an indicator of whether a legacy European broadcaster can successfully pivot to streaming and make that shift pay off financially.