RTL Boss Clement Schwebig on the Hybrid Future of European TV: “Scale Is Essential”
RTL Group's chief executive, Clement Schwebig, has set out the German media giant's strategy of pursuing scale and a hybrid model of free-to-air, pay TV and streaming to compete with global platforms such as Netflix and YouTube. His comments come amid a wave of consolidation among Europe's traditional broadcasters, who are grappling with declining advertising revenue and fierce competition from streaming and online video services, prompting deals such as Comcast's Sky agreeing to buy ITV and MediaForEurope taking control of ProSiebenSat.1.
RTL, Europe's largest television company and owner of production giant Fremantle, completed its acquisition of Comcast's Sky Deutschland pay-TV business in June, merging it into its RTL+ streaming service to create the third-largest streamer in German-speaking Europe with 12.4 million paid subscriptions, behind only Netflix and Amazon Prime. First-half 2026 results released on Tuesday showed streaming revenue up 27.2 per cent to €299 million (£259 million approx.), offsetting a decline in traditional TV, with Schwebig saying the division would contribute around €100 million (£87 million approx.) to operating profit this year and calling it "a profitability story" rather than an investment one.
- RTL boss says scale and hybrid TV/streaming model are key to survival.
- RTL+ now third-largest streamer in German-speaking Europe after Sky Deutschland deal.
- Streaming revenue up 27.2% in H1 2026, offsetting traditional TV decline.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
European broadcasters must achieve scale to compete with global platforms like Netflix and Amazon, which command vastly greater resources for content and technology investment. Consolidation enables companies to leverage existing assets—cable networks, audiences, and content libraries—whilst moving to streaming, where RTL's results demonstrate profitability. Without this repositioning, European broadcasters risk irrelevance and weakened media independence.
The case against
Consolidation threatens media pluralism and consumer welfare by concentrating ownership amongst fewer entities with reduced competitive pressure on pricing and content quality. Traditional broadcast television serves a vital democratic function by providing universal access to quality programmes regardless of wealth, a service increasingly abandoned as companies prioritise paid streaming. European regulators scrutinise media consolidation, and scale offers no certainty of success in an uncertain streaming marketplace.