(Reuters) -European media group RTL lowered its annual forecasts on Tuesday, citing weakness in the TV advertising business in Germany and France, at a time when the broadcaster leans on streaming growth to offset declines in its core markets.
RTL, which operates commercial TV networks in Germany, France and the Netherlands, expects revenue of 6 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.
That compares to previous forecasts for revenue of 6.45 billion and EBITA of 780 million euros.
“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,” CEO Thomas Rabe said in a statement. He will be replaced by Clement Schwebig in May 2026.
The group’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.
The group also said it aimed to cut streaming startup losses by more than a half to about 50 million euros this year, compared with 137 million in 2024.
RTL reiterated its plans to continue buying back its shares until March 2026, with purchases capped at 35 euros per share.
The buyback is designed to provide flexibility for settling up to 377 million euros in variable payments linked to RTL’s Sky Deutschland acquisition, which seller Comcast can trigger if RTL’s share price exceeds 41 euros. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
Rival ProSiebenSat.1 last week also trimmed its annual guidance after reporting a drop in quarterly earnings, betting on streaming to offset the decline in traditional TV ads.
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(Reporting by Cian Muenster and Bartosz Dabrowski; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
