Content and digital drive RTL revenue growth
November 6, 2019
RTL Group has published the following quarterly statement for the first nine months of 2019.
For the period January to September 2019, revenues were up 3.5 per cent organically to €4.53 billion. Total digital revenue were up 14 per cent to €755 million.
Revenue from RTL Group’s broadcasting operations was down 2 per cent, to €3.17 billion mainly due to scope changes (sale of Universum Film and the football club Girondins de Bordeaux) and lower TV advertising revenue in Germany and the Netherlands.
Content revenue, which represents Fremantle, was up 16 per cent to €1.22 billion, mainly driven by the delivery of new shows and series such as the second season of American Gods. For the full year 2019, RTL Group expects Fremantle’s organic revenue to grow between 10 and 12 per cent on a constant currency basis
Digital revenue generated by RTL Group’s MPN activities and SpotX was up 14 per cent to €337 million, thanks to growth at both BroadbandTV and SpotX. VOD revenue, generated by RTL Group’s broadcasting operations, was up 24 per cent to €183 million.
Thomas Rabe, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group, said: “RTL Group continues its growth trajectory with revenue up 3.5 per cent organically in the first nine months of 2019, driven by our content and digital activities. We are on course to achieve all the targets in our outlook statement.”
“We also made good progress on our strategic priorities and partnerships: at the end of September 2019, RTL Group registered 1.4 million paying subscribers for its streaming services in Germany and the Netherlands – up 50 per cent year on year. As our streaming services are showing rapid growth and exceeding our expectations, we will significantly increase our ambition level and investments. In France, Groupe M6 is building the tech platform for Salto – the joint subscription service with TF1 and France Télévisions to be launched in 2020. With our European ad-tech business, Smartclip, we are creating an open ad-tech platform, tailored to the needs of European broadcasters and streaming services. Together with the management team of RTL Deutschland, we have started a roadshow to present our solutions to other European broadcasters – creating a great deal of interest,” Rabe added.