The production company behind Kill Jackie, Fremantle, experienced a near 8% drop in half-year revenues influenced by its drama and film sectors, though profits soared to approximately $70 million.
Revealed by its parent company RTL this morning, the London-headquartered firm recorded earnings of €835M ($963M), which represents a 7.7% decrease from the €905M reported in the corresponding period the previous year.
The decline was attributed by RTL to “timing effects within Fremantle’s drama and film divisions,” while revenue from entertainment and documentaries remained relatively unchanged.
According to RTL’s forecasts, this downturn is expected to turn around in the latter half of 2026, with projections indicating a slight improvement over last year’s figures, driven by forthcoming projects including AMC+’s Kill Jackie and Fox’s Baywatch.
Despite the revenue dip, Fremantle was highlighted as one of two units within RTL that led to a substantial rise in overall earnings. The adjusted EBITA increased from €39M to €60M, with a significant expansion in profit margin from 4.3% to 7.2%, aligning the company towards a targeted 9% margin for the year.
The financial update follows the news, as reported by Deadline less than two weeks ago, that Katie O’Connell Marsh was appointed as CEO of Fremantle’s Global Scripted Hub. Her responsibilities include expanding the drama and comedy portfolio and enhancing revenue from these productions. Shortly after her appointment was announced, the reboot of Baywatch was sold to Prime Video across several regions.
The latest financials arrived after RTL implemented cost-saving strategies at Fremantle following a strategic evaluation. As part of these strategies, Fremantle ceased fully financing films, though it continues to participate as a co-producer.
Cost reduction efforts are set to persist through 2030, focusing on “optimization of production expenses, process simplification, and cuts in technical costs, driven by AI,” as noted by RTL.
RTL Profits Escalate
The Luxembourg-based RTL Group reported a slight increase in overall revenues, up 0.1% to €2.9B, with a marked rise in adjusted EBITA to €239M from €160M in the first half of 2025. Excluding the €68M expenditure on acquiring Sky, the group’s adjusted EBITA saw an additional increase of €18M.
Streaming revenue sources such as RTL+ and M6+ saw a 27.2% increase to €299M, fueled by a growing subscriber base, higher pricing in Germany, and rapidly increasing advertising revenues in Germany and France. The total number of paid subscribers in Germany and France, RTL’s largest markets, rose by 20.7% to 8.7 million.
Streaming-related adjusted EBITA stood at €31M, with expectations to hit around €100M for the full fiscal year, significantly surpassing the initial forecasts of €25M-€50M provided to analysts.
This report also marks the first since RTL completed its acquisition of Sky Deutschland on June 1, with Sky Deutschland recording an adjusted EBITA of €61M for the first half. It is noted that this figure might not reflect the full year’s performance as June incurs no production costs from major football events.
Following the merger of RTL+ and Sky Deutschland’s operations, the combined subscriber count in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland is expected to exceed 12 million.
“RTL Group delivered a strong first half performance in 2026, driven by rapid streaming growth, gains in both TV audience and TV advertising market shares, and the successful completion of the acquisition of Sky Deutschland,” stated RTL CEO Clément Schwebig. “We also demonstrated the unique power of our content and brands, as the coverage of the football World Cup on M6 and M6+ attracted 60 million viewers and generated exceptional digital engagement.
“Our streaming businesses deliver strong profitability. Streaming revenue and paid subscriptions continue to grow dynamically. As a result, streaming is now expected to contribute around €100M to our full-year operating profit,” he added.
Schwebig, who previously served as an executive at Warner Bros. Discovery, succeeded Thomas Rabe as CEO earlier this year, with Rabe continuing as the head of RTL’s parent company, Bertelsmann, until later in the year.
Daniel Hayes is a business journalist with a focus on market trends, startups, and corporate strategies.
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