LUXEMBOURG (dpa-AFX) – The ongoing TV advertising lull also caused RTL problems in the first quarter. But tailwind came from the streaming business. RTL has had a solid start to the year for the new CEO Clement Schwebig. However, the environment for linear TV advertising remains challenging given the ongoing shift towards streaming, said the manager. The group confirmed the forecast for 2026. Investors on the stock market were cautious.
At midday, the share fell by almost four percent to 29.05 euros, its lowest level since the beginning of 2025. Since the beginning of the year, the shares have lost 16 percent in value; Since the interim high of 39 euros in April of this year, the decline has amounted to just over 25 percent. RTL is currently valued at 4.5 billion euros on the stock exchange. A little more than three quarters of the shares belong to the media group Bertelsmann.
Analyst Annick Maas from the investment house Bernstein points to the decline in TV advertising revenue. The business continues to suffer from increasing competition from streaming providers.
Sales in the quarter were at around 1.3 billion euros, at the previous year’s level, as the MDAX-listed company announced on Wednesday in Luxembourg. This was in line with analyst expectations. Lower revenues from TV advertising were offset primarily by higher revenues from streaming.
Overall, advertising sales fell by 3.2 percent to 663 million euros. TV advertising revenue fell significantly by 6.5 percent to 474 million euros. Revenues from digital advertising rose by 14.6 percent to 118 million euros.
Things went well with the streaming services. Sales here climbed by 27 percent to 141 million euros. According to the announcement, the first three months of the year were the first profitable quarter for the streaming business. For the year as a whole, management expects an operating profit of between 25 and 50 million euros.
With the purchase of Sky Deutschland, RTL wants to expand its streaming business. The EU Commission approved the deal in April. RTL expects to complete the deal at the beginning of June. With the merger, RTL would bundle TV channels, pay channels and streaming portals in German-speaking countries.
In the business of producing programs at the content subsidiary Fremantle, sales only declined moderately at 372 million euros. As usual, the group did not disclose key figures for profit development in the first quarter./err/nas/zb
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