Naman Ramachandran Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based media giant RTL Group, which owns Fremantle, has declared revenue of €3.26 billion ($3.35 billion) for the first half of 2022, a growth of 9% from the corresponding period in 2021.The RTL Group has interests in 56 television channels, eight streaming services and 36 radio stations.
The group’s content business, Fremantle, is one of the world’s largest creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content, including “American Idol,” “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The X Factor.” Revenue at Fremantle was up 8% to €983 million.Adjusted group earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) for the group was up 3.7% to €501 million, “despite more challenging macroeconomic conditions and higher streaming start-up losses,” RTL said in a statement.
However, streaming was the star performer in some markets. Paying subscribers for the group’s streaming services in Germany and the Netherlands soared 48% to more than 4.5 million and streaming revenue was up 22% to €130 million.
Distribution revenue was up 3% to €220 million. Group profit was €304 million, significantly down from €929 million in the first half of 2021, which benefited from capital gains of €745 million from the sale of video advertising platform SpotX.
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