With its content and streaming businesses performing successfully, RTL Group is moving forward with its business transformation. CEO Thomas Rabe confirmed that the company is ‘accelerating the transformation of RTL Group’, citing streaming revenue growth and strategic acquisitions as key drivers.
Portfolio focus and Market consolidation
RTL Group is strategically focusing its portfolio on its largest business units. The company closed the sale of RTL Nederland to DPG Media in the first half of this year, which is expected to yield a shareholder dividend of €5 per share, payable in 2026. Over the past five years, disposal proceeds have totaled more than €2.7 billion.
The most significant recent move is the announced acquisition of Sky Deutschland (DACH), pending regulatory approval. This transaction unites two major media brands in the DACH region, creating a combined subscriber base of approximately 11.5 million. The acquisition merges Sky’s premium sports rights—including Bundesliga, Premier League, and Formula 1—with RTL’s entertainment brands across FTA, pay TV, and the RTL+ streaming service. RTL Group expects this, along with improved macroeconomic conditions, to drive a significant increase in operating profits in the coming years.
RTL Deutschland has also strengthened its linear sports rights, securing the highlight rights for the DFB Cup for men starting with the 2026/27 season, and broadcasting rights for the European Basketball Championship 2025. In March 2025, RTL Deutschland also sold its magazine brands Brigitte, Gala, and Eltern to Funke Mediengruppe.
In France, Groupe M6’s FTA channels saw their audience share in the commercial target group increase slightly to 20.8 per cent. Groupe M6 also secured the exclusive broadcasting rights for all matches of the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2027 in France.
Streaming growth and technological investment
Streaming remains a key growth area. RTL Group’s services (RTL+ in Germany and M6+ in France and Hungary) reached 7.232 million paying subscribers as of June 30, 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 15.3 per cent.
RTL+ in Germany reported a 13.7 per cent increase in paying subscribers, reaching 6.363 million. Viewing hours for RTL+ increased by 17.5 per cent to 346 million, positioning it as the leading German entertainment offering in the streaming market. Key formats driving this growth include Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten and Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!.
In France, M6+ reported 28.0 million average monthly active users, marking a 35 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Technologically, RTL Group is migrating RTL+ in Germany to the Bedrock platform by early 2026 to generate significant cost savings, contributing to the goal of reaching streaming profitability in 2026. The company also renewed its distribution partnership with Deutsche Telekom until at least 2030, ensuring RTL+ Premium remains included in most MagentaTV packages.
Fremantle and strategic alliances
RTL Group continues to invest in Fremantle, aligning with its goal to reach full-year revenue of €3 billion in the mid-term. Recent developments include a first-look and development deal with Emma Stone’s Fruit Tree production company. Fremantle has also launched Fremantle Sports, a new global unit focused on developing cross-platform sports formats, and Imaginae Studios, a stand-alone label dedicated to leveraging AI solutions. A new creative hub, Fremantle Global Originals, was launched in June 2025 to focus on unscripted formats.
RTL Group is also pursuing strategic alliances, joining a far-reaching collaboration with OpenAI in January 2025 to gain early access to new AI tools. In advertising, RTL Zwei and Warner Bros Discovery Germany plan to form a sales house joint venture by early 2026 to jointly sell their TV and digital advertising inventories in Germany.
