RTL Group S.A.

RTL Group reported first-half 2026 revenue of EUR 2.9 billion, up 3.9% year over year, with adjusted EBITA of EUR 239 million versus EUR 160 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITA margin rose to 8.3% from 5.8%, and profit from continuing operations increased to EUR 61 million from EUR 6 million. RTL Deutschland revenue increased 11.1% to EUR 1.3 billion and adjusted EBITA rose to EUR 129 million; Groupe M6 revenue was up 1.7% to EUR 644 million and adjusted EBITA was EUR 54 million; Fremantle revenue declined 7.7% to EUR 835 million while adjusted EBITA improved to EUR 60 million with a 7.2% margin. For 2026, RTL confirmed adjusted EBITA of around EUR 725 million, revenue of around EUR 7.1 billion to EUR 7.2 billion, streaming revenue of around EUR 600 million to EUR 650 million, and streaming adjusted EBITA of around EUR 100 million. Management also reaffirmed the EUR 250 million annual synergy target from Sky Deutschland over 3 years and the medium-term adjusted EBITA target of EUR 1 billion.

Clement Schwebig framed the half as evidence that RTL’s transformation is working, emphasizing speed and discipline. He called the Sky Deutschland deal transformational, said the company is quickly integrating it, and pointed to streaming as now being both a high-growth and high-margin contributor. He also highlighted audience-share gains in Germany and France, especially the World Cup impact on M6, and said the strategy remains centered on core content, streaming growth, and partnerships.

Björn Bauer said revenue grew to EUR 2.9 billion and adjusted EBITA to EUR 239 million, with the margin improving to 8.3% from 5.8%. He attributed the improvement mainly to streaming, Sky Deutschland, and higher Fremantle contribution, and noted that Fremantle’s adjusted EBITA margin was 7.2% in H1 and is on track for the 9% full-year target. He also stressed that Sky’s H1 contribution of EUR 61 million is not representative because June is seasonally favorable, and clarified that Sky’s full-year contribution to results should be around zero, while the group’s dividend policy remains at least 80% of adjusted full-year net results.

Analysts asked about confidence in the EUR 250 million Sky synergy target, possible job cuts, whether RTL is pursuing a different strategy than ProSiebenSat.1, and whether there will be more M&A. Management said the synergy target is fully confirmed, with about 75% cost-related, most synergies expected in 2027 and 2028, and some organization streamlining likely as duplicate structures are removed. On streaming, management said the EUR 100 million target excludes Sky and reflects the existing streaming scope, with the higher second-half contribution driven by seasonality, subscriber growth, higher ARPU, and ad revenue. They also said RTL and Sky are highly complementary, but any combined bundle or sports-tier plans will be announced later by RTL Deutschland, and they are not expecting additional group-level M&A this year.