RTL Group has reported that Q1 revenue was down 2 per cent to €1.2 billion mainly attributed to lower content revenue from Fremantle and lower TV advertising revenue, partly offset by higher streaming revenue. Group revenue was down 5.6 per cent organically.RTL Group’s total advertising revenue remained stable at €685 million (Q1 2024: €685 million), of which €507 million represented TV advertising revenue, €103 million digital advertising revenue and €75 million radio, print and other advertising revenue.Thomas Rabe, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group, commented: “RTL Group had a solid start into 2025. Paying streaming subscribers were up 18 per cent, exceeding the seven million mark. Streaming and digital advertising revenue each grew by 29 per cent, offsetting lower TV advertising revenue. We are firmly on track for streaming profitability in 2026.”“Fremantle is making good progress on boosting IP development and rapidly deploying AI, as evidenced by the launch of a new AI-focused label, Imaginae Studios. We confirm our full-year Adjusted EBITA guidance of around €780 million. If advertising revenue fell short of expectations, we would reduce costs accordingly. We are confident that, in the medium term, the investment programme announced by the new German government will have a positive effect on GDP, private consumption and advertising spend,” added Rabe.In the first three months of 2025, RTL Deutschland’s combined audience share in the main commercial target group of viewers aged 14 to 59 was 26.2 per cent, with a lead over ProSiebenSat1 of 6.4 percentage points. The main channel RTL was the only commercial channel to achieve a double-digit average audience share of 10.1 per cent.The combined audience share of Groupe M6’s free-to-air channels in the commercial target group of viewers aged 25 to 49 was 20.2 per cent (Q1/2024: 20.6 per cent).In February 2025, Groupe M6 announced that French entertainment talent Cyril Hanouna would re-join Groupe M6 in September 2025 for a pre-evening talk show on W9 and a new afternoon show at the radio station Fun Radio.By the end of March 2025, RTL Group’s streaming services RTL+ in Germany and Hungary and M6+ in France had 7.1 million paying subscribers – an increase of 18.5 per cent year on year (end of March 2024: 6.0 million). --Paying subscribers for RTL+ in Germany increased by 18.1 per cent year on year to 6.2 million, driven by a mix of exclusive content, strong entertainment formats and live sports. --Viewing hours for RTL+ in Germany increased by 27.1 per cent to 182 million hours in Q1/2025, making RTL+ the leading German entertainment offering in the streaming market. The top streaming titles were 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 Group expects its full-year revenue for 2025 to increase to around €6.45 billion, mainly due to significantly higher streaming revenue and portfolio effects.
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