Advanced Television

Thomas Rabe

RTL results boosted by streaming, TV ads

RTL Group has released its full-year results for the year ending December 31st 2021. Group revenue increased 10.3 per cent to €6,637 million (2020: €6,017 million), mainly due to strong growth of TV advertising revenue in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2021, of Fremantle and of the streaming businesses. Group revenue was up […]

March 17, 2022

RTL revenue up 17.2%; rebrands streaming platform

RTL Group has published its quarterly statement for the January to September 2021 period. Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, commented: “In the third quarter of 2021, RTL Group continued to perform strongly. Revenue grew by 17.2 per cent organically in the first nine months of the year, thanks to the ongoing recovery of TV […]

November 4, 2021

RTL Group, Amobee form TechAlliance

RTL Group has announced a partnership with Amobee to strengthen their ad-tech businesses in continental Europe. RTL Group and Amobee will establish a jointly owned sales and services company called TechAlliance, which will combine the ad-tech services of Amobee and Smartclip in Europe. The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close in […]

October 21, 2021

Dang, Schäfer named RTL Deutschland co-CEOs

Following the decision to combine RTL Deutschland and Gruner + Jahr as of January 1st 2022, RTL Group has announced changes to the management of RTL Deutschland. Effective immediately, Matthias Dang and Stephan Schäfer will take over the leadership of RTL Deutschland as co-CEOs. The former CEO of RTL Deutschland, Bernd Reichart, will leave RTL […]

September 1, 2021

RTL, Talpa in Dutch merger

In a move that they say will create a strong Dutch cross-media group across TV, streaming, radio, print and digital, pan-European broadcaster RTL Group and TV production company Talpa Network have agreed to merge their broadcasting and affiliated media businesses in the Netherlands. In the growing competition with global tech platforms, they say the merger […]

June 23, 2021

RTL unveils new brand identity

RTL Group has unveiled a new identity and design for its core brand RTL. A press release from the German company said that “the comprehensive redesign and repositioning will strengthen RTL as Europe’s leading entertainment brand. The focus is on one unified RTL brand that stands for positive entertainment and independent journalism, as well as […]

June 14, 2021

TF1, M6 “exclusive” merger talks

Groupe TF1, Groupe M6, Groupe Bouygues and RTL Group have signed agreements to enter into exclusive negotiations to merge the activities of Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 and create a major French media group. They say the new group would be well positioned to master the challenges arising from the accelerating competition with global platforms, […]

May 18, 2021By Colin Mann

Banks react to Bertelsmann consolidation comments

Thomas Rabe, CEO/chairman of Bertelsmann, has shared his view that there’s a strong case and a need for consolidation amongst streaming platforms. His comments prompted a note to clients from a couple of investment banks. Exane/BNPP asked: “Does this give RTL the impetus to be the European broadcasting champion?” The bank adds: “As a reminder, […]

August 18, 2020

Bertelsmann: “Europe should consolidate streamers”

Thomas Rabe, chief executive and chairman of Bertelsmann says regulators should allow European media companies to scout mergers and partnerships to enable them to compete with US streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney+. Rabe told the FT that the economic impact of coronavirus on the industry had strengthened his view that it will be […]

August 17, 2020

RTL revenue down 16.4%

RTL Group’s turnover fell significantly in the first half of 2020, dropping 16.4 per cent to €2.7 billion. Advertising revenue has suffered in particular, dropping by 40 per cent from April to June. The bottom line is a profit of €156 million for the first six months of 2020, down €287 millionon the previous year. […]

August 13, 2020