Broadcaster RTL cuts outlook as TV ads fall in Germany and France

By Cian Muenster and Bartosz Dabrowski

(Reuters) -European broadcaster RTL cut its revenue and earnings forecasts on Tuesday after a sharp drop in TV advertising in Germany and France, underscoring the pressure on traditional broadcasters as audiences shift online.

RTL, majority owned by Bertelsmann, operates commercial TV networks in Germany, France and the Netherlands and accounts for more than a third of the German conglomerate's revenue.

It now expects revenue of 6.0 billion to 6.1 billion euros ($7.0 billion to $7.1 billion) and earnings before interest, taxes and amortization of 650 million euros this year, down from the previously guided 6.45-billion-euro revenue and 780-million-euro EBITA.

Rival ProSiebenSat.1 last week also trimmed its annual guidance after reporting a drop in quarterly earnings. Both broadcasters are counting on streaming growth to offset the decline in traditional TV ads.

“The market environment remains challenging, with a reduction of TV advertising revenue in our core markets and an accelerated shift from linear TV to streaming,” said Thomas Rabe, who is currently the CEO of both Bertelsmann and RTL.

He will hand over the reins at RTL to Clement Schwebig in May 2026 and at Bertelsmann to Thomas Coesfeld in January 2027.

Bertelsmann also cut its outlook on Tuesday, expecting 2025 revenue to remain broadly stable and adjusted core earnings (EBITDA) to be moderately lower than last year. It had previously expected both to rise.

Shares in RTL fell around 3% in the first hour of trading, while Bertelsmann was trading 1.5% lower.

RTL's TV advertising revenue fell 7.4% in the first nine months of the year, while digital advertising jumped 31.7%.

Streaming revenue grew 26.6%, with paying subscribers rising 17.4% to 7.6 million. RTL aims to exceed 8 million subscribers by the end of 2025, and to cut streaming startup losses by more than half to about 50 million euros this year compared to 2024.

RTL will continue to buy back its shares until March 2026, saying this will provide it with flexibility in settling up to 377 million euros in variable payments linked to its Sky Deutschland acquisition from Comcast. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

($1 = 0.8624 euros)

(Reporting by Cian Muenster and Bartosz Dabrowski; additional reporting by Canan Sevgili; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)