RTL sees paying streaming customers jump by 50%

Pan-European broadcaster RTL saw the number of paying subscribers to its streaming services in Germany and the Netherlands jump by 50% in the year to September to end on 1.4 million, with CEO Thomas Rabe promising an increase in ambition NS investment for the platforms.

Thomas Rabe

RTL has also posted solid year-to-date results, with total revenue for the first nine months up 3.5% to €4.531 billion, with a decline in broadcast revenue being offset by solid growth at production outfit Fremantle and a strong performance from its digital advertising business.

At the end of September 2019, RTL Group registered 1.4 million paying subscribers for its streaming services TV Now in Germany and Videoland in the Netherlands, up 50% year on year. The viewing times of TV Now in Germany and Videoland in the Netherlands also increased year on year, by 27% and 59% respectively.

RTL’s revenues rose by 3.5% organically for the first nine months, taking its total to €4.531 billion. Total digital revenue was up 14% to €755 million.

Broadcast revenue declined by 2% for the nine months to €3.178 billion, hit by the impact of one-off asset sales in the comparable period as well as lower TV ad revenue in Germany and the Netherlands, but this was offset by a 16% rise in revenue from production outfit Fremantle to €1.225 billion as well as the increase in digital revenue.

Within digital revenue, digital studio BroadbandTV and ad tech outfit SpotX saw combined revenues rise by 14% to €337 million, while VOD revenue was up 24% to €183 million.

“RTL Group continues its growth trajectory with revenue up 3.5 per cent organically in the first nine months of 2019, driven by our content and digital activities. We are on course to achieve all the targets in our outlook statement. We also made good progress on our strategic priorities and partnerships: at the end of September 2019, RTL Group registered 1.4 million paying subscribers for its streaming services in Germany and the Netherlands – up 50% year on year,” said Rabe.

“As our streaming services are showing rapid growth and exceeding our expectations, we will significantly increase our ambition level and investments. In France, Groupe M6 is building the tech platform for Salto – the joint subscription service with TF1 and France Télévisions to be launched in 2020. With our European ad-tech business, Smartclip, we are creating an open ad-tech platform, tailored to the needs of European broadcasters and streaming services. Together with the management team of RTL Deutschland, we have started a roadshow to present our solutions to other European broadcasters – creating a great deal of interest.”