Fremantle Half-Year Revenues Down $55M As $3.3B Target Draws Closer; RTL Group Broadly Flat Overall

Fremantle‘s target to make €3B ($3.3B) in revenue every year by 2026 still has some way to go, as Poor Things and Got Talent company posted half-year turnover down €50M.

The RTL-owned production and sales group made €957M in the first six months of 2024, down from €1.07B in the comparable period a year earlier. The company is predicting slightly higher full-year revenues, which last year came in at €2.3M, and will push towards the total through organic and M&A growth, maintaining gross margins, and reducing overheads.

Adjusted EBITA was basically flat, down 3% at €35M. The plan is to increase adjusted EBITA margins by 9% by 2026.

Luxembourg-based RTL put the revenue fall down to “market developments and phasing effects,” which were partially offset by consolidating new acquisition Asacha Media Group’s revenues since March. Fremantle paid an undisclosed amount for France-based Asacha earlier this year, and also acquired an 80% stake in Singapore’s Beach House Pictures, with the tow deals known to have cost more than €200M in total.

RTL played up Fremantle’s recent creative successes, such as Poor Things, which is made by Irish subsidiary Element Pictures, winning four Academy Awards, and first-look deals with the likes of Kristen Stewart’s Nevermind Pictures and AlterEgo.

Overall, RTL posted H1 revenues €2.87B, up 1.8% on the €2.82 posted a year before. Notably, RTL pointed to better TV advertising revenue, as the ad market in Europe continues to improve after a tricky 2023.

Adjusted EBITA was €172M, down 5% on 2023 due to “higher content investments” as the group revealed a mixed financial picture.

Streaming subs provided a bright spark, with paying customers up 24.8% to 6.3 million and streaming revenue up 41.9% to €185M and losses shortened from €89M a year ago to €84M. Content spend was up from €134M to €165M. Long term, RTL — which operates streamers such as RTL+ in Germany and Hungary and M6+ in France — is targeting €750M streaming revenues, nine million paying subs and €500M in annual content spend, along with a path to hallowed profitability.