Fremantle reported €835 million in revenue for the first half of 2026, marking a 7.7% decline from the €905 million recorded during the same period last year.
According to parent company RTL, the decrease was largely linked to the timing of drama and film productions, while entertainment and documentary revenues remained broadly stable.
Despite the decline in revenue, Fremantle’s profitability improved significantly. Adjusted EBITA rose from €39 million to €60 million, while the company’s EBITA margin increased from 4.3% to 7.2%. RTL expects Fremantle’s performance to recover in the second half of the year, with upcoming productions including Kill Jackie and the Baywatch reboot expected to contribute to higher figures.
The results follow Fremantle’s appointment of Katie O’Connell Marsh as CEO of its Global Scripted Hub. Her responsibilities include expanding the company’s drama and comedy slate and increasing returns from its productions.
Fremantle is also continuing a cost-reduction program introduced by RTL following a strategic review. The measures are expected to remain in place through 2030 and include optimizing production costs, simplifying processes and reducing technical expenses through the use of AI.
Across the wider RTL Group, first-half revenue reached €2.9 billion, up 0.1% year on year, while adjusted EBITA increased from €160 million to €239 million. Streaming continued to be a major growth area, with revenue from services including RTL+ and M6+ rising 27.2% to €299 million.
Paid subscriptions across Germany and France increased 20.7% to 8.7 million, while streaming adjusted EBITA reached €31 million. RTL now expects its streaming business to generate around €100 million in adjusted EBITA for the full year, significantly above its previous forecast.
Following the completion of RTL’s acquisition of Sky Deutschland on June 1, the group expects the integration of RTL+ and Sky Deutschland to eventually bring its paid subscriber base across Germany, Austria and Switzerland above 12 million.
