Fremantle‘s first quarter revenue fell 5.6% as the Got Talent maker’s parent RTL blamed “budget cuts at broadcasters and streamers.”
Sales were down to €373M ($418M) in the three months to March this year. The figure for the same period in 2024 was €395M.
The falls were partially offset by the acquisition of France-based Asacha Media Group, which added the likes of Death in Paradise producer Red Planet, Arrow Media and Italy’s Stand By Me into the Fremantle fold.
Fremantle will be expecting a stronger Q2, when it launches the 20th season of America’s Got Talent on NBC, the 18th season of Britain’s Got Talent on ITV and the 14th season of Italia’s Got Talent on Disney+, the 15th season of Death in Paradise from Red Planet Pictures on the BBC as well as the films Pillion and My Father’s Shadow from Element Pictures.
RTL said that despite the revenue drop, Fremantle was “making good progress on boosting IP development and rapidly deploying AI,” referencing the recently-launched Imaginae Studios. Fremantle has also launched global sports content division Fremantle Sports, announced a first-look TV deal with Emma Stone and Dave McCary’s Fruit Tree and struck a three-year deal with the newly-established Eureka Studios, though Eureka’s bosses Chris Culvenor and Paul Franklin no longer technically house their business with the RTL company.
RTL is forecast that Fremantle’s adjusted EBITA margin will increase to 9% by 2026. The €3B full-year revenue target is still in place “in the mid-term,” the company confirmed. Thought the goal was moved back indefinitely, RTL said “the acquisition of small and medium-sized production companies and partnerships with creative talent” would work towards achieving it.
Overall, RTL group revenue was down 2% at €1.92B, with Fremantle and lower TV advertising revenue the primary causes. Total advertising revenue was exactly stable at €685M, with digital ad revenue cracking the €100M barrier witha 28.8% increase to offset a 4% drop in TV ads.
RTL has net debt of €471M, down over €20M on the 2024 Q4 figure, and shareholders were paid a dividend for last year of €2.50 a share, amounting to €387M in total.
RTL+ streaming subscribers in Germany were up 18.1% year-on-year to 6.2 million, with viewing hours increasing 27.1% to 182 million. This makes RTL+ the country’s top entertainment streaming offering and on course for profitability in 2026, the company claimed. Key shows for the growth included Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! (I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here!) and Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten (Good Times, Bad Times).
RTL didn’t break out its earnings, but said adjusted EBITA for 2025 is expected to increase to €780M from €721M in 2024, mainly due to lower streaming start-up losses.
The Luxembourg-based TV and production giant said that it expects to obtain regulatory approvals for the sale of RTL Nederland to DPG Media in the second quarter. RTL is also returning to a potential merger in France, with its network M6 eyeing a deal with TF1. A previous attempt to merge was blocked, but RTL CEO Thomas Rabe has said that a softening European regulatory media environment could see it go through this time to allow the channels to better compete with U.S. streaming services.
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