Fremantle posted stable first quarter revenues of €372M ($436M), as its parent company RTL saw new CEO Clement Schwebig begin his role.
The number Holey Moley maker Fremantle put was essentially the same as Q1 2025 (€373M). RTL said that without negative foreign exchange rate Fremantle’s revenues would have grown 4.2%, primarily thanks to grown in the U.S., where the production giant had previously seen slips.
In April, Fremantle unveiled a global production hub for ABC game show Holey Moley in Portugal and launched music-based game show Hitster in territories including Germany, the Netherlands and Canada. That came after Fremantle struck a deal to stream American Idol live on Disney+ alongside ABC’s network broadcast.
Today’s news came as former Warner Bros. Discovery exec Schwebig began his role as CEO, replacing the long-serving Thomas Rabe. He was announced as successor late last year, with Rabe leaving his roles at both RTL and its parent, Bertelsmann.
Schwebig’s reign starts with RTL posting stable group revenues of €1.3B, essentially the same as last year. Within that digital advertising grew 14.6% to €118M, which compensated for TV ad revenues falling 45%. Overall, revenues were down 3.2%.
Streaming revenue was another bright spark, rising 27% to hit €141M, driven buy more paying subscribers, higher subs costs in Germany and “rapidly” growing ad revenues on German streamer RTL+ and M6+ in France.
RTL didn’t provide EBITA numbers, but noted the streaming business will turn profitable this year and that its overall 2026 full-year adjusted profit is looking at coming in around €725M, up from €661M in 2025.
The news comes as RTL gears up to complete its €150M deal to buy Sky Deutschland on June 1, combining two of Germany’s biggest TV players.
“The first three months of 2026 marked the first profitable quarter of our streaming business,” said Schwebig. “With all streaming performance indicators growing – from revenue to paying subscribers and viewing time – we are confident that our streaming services will generate an operating profit of €25M to €50M for the full year.
“At the same time, we continue the expansion of our streaming footprint through partnerships with HBO Max in Germany and Amazon Prime Video in France, a compelling pipeline of local and international content and, above all, with the combination of RTL and Sky in the DACH region.
“As I assume the role of RTL Group’s CEO, I look forward to working with our excellent management teams and colleagues across the Group to further accelerate our transformation.”
