Got Talent producer Fremantle has seen its half-year revenue fall 5.4%, as parent RTL posted a mixed interim results in which streaming shone but sales and profits fell.
Fremantle’s revenue for H1 came in at €905M ($1.05B), down from €957M for the same period a year ago. This was attributed to lower revenue from the U.S. and “phasing effects”, and was partially offset by bringing Asacha Media Group into the fold.
In the U.S., the drop had been expected as 2024’s numbers had benefitted from America’s Got Talent spin-off America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League.
However, Fremantle’s adjusted EBITDA, which RTL noted was the metric most of the production business’s rivals use, increased 7.2%, without breaking out numbers.
RTL also addressed the €3B full-year revenue target that has begun to hang around Fremantle’s neck like an albatross, saying the group would “continue to invest significantly in IP development, acquisitions and deployment of artificial intelligence across the company’s value chain.”
The first-look deal with Emma Stone and Dave McCary’s Fruit Tree, the partnership with newly established Eureka Studios and launches of Fremantle Sport, AI unit Imaginae Studios and unscripte division Fremantle Global Originals were all cited as opportunities to boost growth.
RTL results mixed
At Fremantle’s Luxembourg-based parent, RTL posted group revenue of €2.78B for H1, down slightly on the €2.87B in 2024. This was a slight miss on analyst expectations of about €2.83B and was attributed to lower TV advertising and content revenues. Adjusted EBITA was €160M, down from €172M a year ago, which RTL said was broadly in line with expectations.
Total ad revenue was €1.41B, down on the €1.44B a year ago, with TV ad revenue falling to €1.02B from €1.09B and radio, print and other segments also down. However, streaming was a bright spark, with ad revenues growing to €230M, up 27.1% on €181M in H1 2024. Furthermore, streaming start-up losses halved to €34M.
Growing revenue at RTL+ in Germany and M6+ in France, along with higher subscription prices and more paying subs was the reasoning behind the growth. RTL grew streaming subscribers 15.3% to 7.2 million.
The results come soon after RTL unexpectedly announced the acquisition of Sky Deutschland from Comcast, and finally closed out its sale of RTL Nederland to DPG Media.
“In the first half of 2025, we made key steps to accelerate the transformation of RTL Group,” said RTL CEO Thomas Rabe. “We grew our streaming revenue by almost 30%, renewed our successful distribution partnership with Deutsche Telekom until 2030 and announced the acquisition of Sky Deutschland.”
Rabe added shareholders could expect a dividend of €5 per share, payable in 2026, for the RTL Nederland transaction.
“We are confident to significantly increase our operating profits in the coming years, driven by improved macroeconomic conditions in Germany, streaming profitability and synergies from the Sky Deutschland acquisition, when approved by the regulators,” said Rabe.
