Fremantle Owner RTL Group Posts $1.6 Billion Profits for 2021
variety.comNaman Ramachandran Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based media giant RTL Group, which owns Fremantle, has declared a group profit of €1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) for 2021, up from €625 million in COVID-affected 2020.The RTL Group has interests in 67 television channels, 10 streaming platforms and 38 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.”Full-year group revenue was up 10.3% to €6.6 billion of which Fremantle accounted for €1.92 billion, a 25.3% increase.
The group’s full-year adjusted EBITA climbed 35.1% to €1.1 billion, up from €853 million in 2020. Of this Fremantle accounted for €141 million.
The group reiterated its ambition of growing Fremantle’s revenue to €3 billion by 2025. TV advertising revenue was up 16% and streaming revenue rose 31.2% compared to 2020.Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, said: “RTL Group’s growth businesses of streaming and content progressed significantly in 2021, with more than 3.8 million paying subscribers for RTL Plus and Videoland, and 81 new drama productions from Fremantle.
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