Advanced Television

RTL

TF1, M6 “exclusive” merger talks

Groupe TF1, Groupe M6, Groupe Bouygues and RTL Group have signed agreements to enter into exclusive negotiations to merge the activities of Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 and create a major French media group. They say the new group would be well positioned to master the challenges arising from the accelerating competition with global platforms, […]

May 18, 2021By Colin Mann

RTL Q1: Streaming services accelerate growth

Pan-European broadcaster RTL Group’s quarterly numbers for the first three months of 2021 show group revenue up 3.9 per cent organically year on year, with reported Group revenue down 4.2 per cent to €1.404 billion ascribed to scope effects and negative exchange rate effects. Thomas Rabe, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group, says: “Our streaming […]

May 6, 2021

Bitmovin raises another $25m

Bitmovin, a provider of video infrastructure for global digital media companies, has raised $25 million (€20.7m) in Series C financing. The company says it will leverage this investment to drive the continued expansion of its product innovation and technology leadership in the streaming space. Bitmovin’s Series C round was led by Swisscom Ventures with participation […]

April 20, 2021

SpotX reports record revenues

SpotX, the global video advertising platform, continued its profitable growth track-record and ended 2020 with what it has described as “outstanding financial results and significantly more access to consumers”. As the pandemic raged across the globe, a record number of viewers tuned in to streaming TV in 2020. Advertisers took notice by diversifying their ad […]

April 7, 2021

France: New regulations could affect M6 sale

There is much speculation in the French press that changes in the country’s channel/media ownership regulations could affect the potential sale of free-to-air network M6. An article in Les Echos suggests that Bertelsmann’s CEO Thomas Rabe expects a decision to be taken during this current half-year regarding the disposal of M6. The decision is important […]

April 1, 2021By Chris Forrester

ITV invests in what3words

Following the announcement of ITV AdVentures Invest, a Media for Equity initiative, ITV has now concluded its first investment in what3words Limited. what3words is a uniquely accessible location service, which has divided the world into a grid of 3 metre squares, giving each its own three-word identifier: a what3words address.  For example, the front door […]

March 25, 2021

M6 sale attracts main French media groups  

French broadcaster M6’s share price jumped by 7.55 per cent to €19.38 on the morning of March 12th after leading French media groups submitted offers to acquire the commercial TV and radio group, with majority shareholder RTL Group confirming sale talks. Prospective buyers had until the evening of March 10th to declare their interest, according […]

March 12, 2021From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris

RTL sees strong rebound in TV advertising

RTL Group announces its audited results for the year ended December 31st 2020. Group revenue for the European TV giant decreased 9.5 per cent to €6.01 billion, mainly due to declining TV advertising markets across Europe in Q2 and lower content production revenue as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Group revenue was down 6.8 […]

March 12, 2021

RTL’s NowTV app joins Sky Deutschland  

RTL’s NowTV app is now available on the Sky Q platform in Germany. It joins the likes of ARD, ZDF, Netflix and Prime as apps already on the platform. Viewers will be able to use the app to access all RTL’s FTA channels and catch up. A subscription is required for the pay channels. The […]

March 5, 2021

RTL Group taking full ownership of Super RTL

Media group RTL’s largest business unit, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, is to acquire the outstanding 50 per cent shareholding in digital entertainment company Super RTL, having signed a binding agreement with its current joint venture partner, BVI Television Investments, Inc., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. This will take RTL Group’s shareholding in Super RTL […]

March 3, 2021By Colin Mann