Fremantle reports steady revenues in Q1

Fremantle’s revenues for the first quarter of the year have stabilised, according to its parent RTL Group. 

Fremantle recorded €372m in revenue for Q1, broadly level with the €373m it reported over the same period last year. RTL attributed the figure to negative foreign exchange rate effects offsetting higher revenue from Fremantle in the US. The production house’s revenue increased by 4.2% organically.  

The company’s activity during the quarter included the building of a dedicated production hub for the mini-golf format Holey Moley in Portugal. The hub will produce several European adaptations, including the upcoming UK version which is co-produced by TalkbackThames and Ant and Dec’s Mitre Studios. Fremantle also launched its new music-based game show Hitster in multiple territories including Germany, the Netherlands and Canada.  

Fremantle also announced Art Awakens, the debut project from AI outfit Imaginae Studios, as well as further expanding the reach of American Idol through a deal with Disney+ to bring the competition to a global audience.  

RTL group’s quarterly revenue was flat at €1.3bn, and the company said lower TV advertising revenue had been counterbalanced by higher streaming revenue. Subscribers to its streaming services, RTL+ in Germany and M6+ in France, was up 18.8% year-on-year to 8.4 million, while streaming revenue increases 27% to €141m.  

While TV ad revenue was down 6.5% year-on-year, digital advertising revenue grew 14.6% to €118m. 

RTL noted that while it remains difficult to predict the impact of ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, it expects full-year revenues to settle between €6.1bn and €6.2bn. These figures assume linear TV ad revenue will be down 3%, streaming revenue to grow by 25% and Fremantle’s revenue to increase by around 3% organically.  

Clément Schwebig, RTL Group’s new chief executive, said: “We have had a solid start to 2026 with RTL Group and our content business Fremantle returning to organic growth. The environment for linear TV advertising remains challenging, driven by the ongoing shift to streaming.  

“The first three months of 2026 marked the first profitable quarter of our streaming business. 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 €25 million to €50 million for the full year.” 

He added: “As I assume the role of RTL Group’s chief executive, I look forward to working with our excellent management teams and colleagues across the group to further accelerate our transformation.”