Advanced Television

RTL Group

RTL Nederland sold to DPG Media for €1.1bn

RTL Group has reached an agreement on the sale of RTL Nederland to DPG Media, a multi-media company active in the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. Subject to regulatory approvals and the consultation process with the respective works councils, the all-cash transaction is expected to close around mid-2024. The total consideration on a debt- and cash-free […]

December 15, 2023

RTL chief attacks junk food ad ban

Thomas Rabe, chief executive of the RTL Group, said that a proposal by the Green food and agriculture minister, Cem Özdemir, to ban junk food adverts was an example of the “overregulation” that was weighing down the largest economy in Europe. He says it would prevent broadcasters from showing adverts for unhealthy foods aimed at […]

August 30, 2023

RTL revenue down 9% despite streaming gains

RTL, the Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, has reported that Q1 group revenue down 9 per cent to €1.4 billion, mainly due to significantly lower TV advertising revenue and the disposals of RTL Belgium (31 March 2022) and RTL Croatia (1 June 2022), which were still fully consolidated in Q1 2022. Group revenue was down 7.7 […]

May 4, 2023

smartclip launches TV ad break replacement

smartclip, the adtech development unit of RTL Group, has announced the launch of the programmatic linear TV ad break replacement — the technical implementation of programmatic buying for TV spots within the linear TV ad break. The new feature can replace the full ad break or single spots via Addressable TV, based on the European-wide […]

April 4, 2023

RTL Nederland, Talpa merger quashed

The Dutch competition authority ACM has informed RTL Group and Talpa Network that the authority will not approve the proposed merger of RTL Nederland and Talpa Network, initially announced on June 22nd, 2021. Since the initial announcement of the planned transaction, RTL Group and Talpa Network say they have fully cooperated with ACM during its […]

January 30, 2023By Colin Mann

RTL AdAlliance appoints Ostermaier as CFO

RTL AdAlliance has appointed Iris Ostermaier global CFO of the newly created RTL AdAlliance, effective January 9th 2023. In this role, she will report to Stéphane Coruble, CEO of RTL AdAlliance. RTL AdAlliance was formed through the combination of RTL AdConnect, G+J iMS and Smartclip’s sales and media businesses to create an international total media […]

December 14, 2022

RTL Group to keep M6 controlling stake

Following the collapse of the planned merger between French commercial broadcasters TF1 and M6, RTL Group has announced that it has decided to keep its controlling stake in Groupe M6. The decision follows a review of strategic options after RTL Group received several financially attractive offers for its 48.3 per cent shareholding in Groupe M6. […]

October 4, 2022By Colin Mann

TF1, M6 merger abandoned

Bouygues, RTL Group, Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 have decided to call off their plan to merge the TF1 and M6 groups announced on May 17th 2021. The decision comes after the parties appeared at the hearings France’s Autorité de la concurrence (Competition Authority) Collège (board) on September 5th and 6th 2022 to argue in […]

September 16, 2022By Colin Mann

Bouygues, RTL offer TF1/M6 merger concessions

With the French competition authority (Autorité de la Concurrence) raising concerns about the proposed merger between TF1 and M6, in particular its effect on the advertising market, Bouygues Group and RTL Group have revealed their first proposals covering advertising and TV production. To rescue the merger, they are both proposing to keep their advertising agencies […]

August 22, 2022From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris

RTL Group Q1 revenue up 11.3%

RTL Group has reported that total revenue was up 11.3 per cent to €1.56 billion, mainly thanks to scope effects at RTL Deutschland (from the acquisitions of Gruner + Jahr and Super RTL) and Fremantle as well as positive foreign exchange rate effects. Group revenue was up 4.4 per cent organically, mainly driven by TV […]

May 6, 2022