RTL Group increased its turnover in the first half of 2026. This was largely due to the acquisition of Sky Deutschland, which has been included in the Group’s financial results since June. At the same time, growth in the streaming business continued, whilst TV advertising revenue declined.

RTL Group’s turnover rose by 3.9 per cent to 2.89 billion euros in the first six months. However, organic growth was only 0.1 per cent. Adjusted EBITA rose from €160 million to €239 million. Excluding the contribution from the Sky acquisition, the increase would have been significantly lower.

The streaming business showed particularly strong growth. The number of RTL Group streaming subscribers rose by 20.7 per cent year-on-year to 8.7 million. Streaming revenue rose by 27.2 per cent to €299 million. The segment’s adjusted EBITA improved from a loss of €34 million to a profit of €31 million.

In Germany, there were RTL+ 7.603 million subscribers at the end of the first half of the year. This figure was 19.5 per cent higher than the previous year’s figure of 6.263 million. Following the completion of the Sky takeover, the RTL Group states that it now has a total of 12.4 million subscribers across its various platforms.

The growth in streaming is offset by continued weakness in the traditional TV advertising business. TV advertising revenue fell by four per cent to 977 million euros in the first half of the year. Digital advertising revenue, by contrast, rose by 10.9 per cent to 255 million euros.

The international manufacturing business, too Fremantle Revenue showed a downward trend. Revenue fell by 7.7 per cent to 835 million euros. However, adjusted EBITA rose from 39 to 60 million euros. For the second half of the year, RTL Group expects revenue performance to improve, driven in part by new series productions.

For the full year 2026, RTL Group expects revenue of between 7.1 and 7.2 billion euros, including Sky Deutschland. Adjusted EBITA is expected to be around 725 million euros. In addition, the Group expects the Sky acquisition to generate annual synergies of around 250 million euros over the next three years.