MFE, the Berlusconi-owned European media group, has published its financial results for the first half of 2024, reporting a 7.8 percent YoY uptick in revenues. Advertising revenues were up 6.7 percent YoY, signalling a stronger European TV ad market than the first half of 2023.
Unlike many other broadcasters, MFE is almost entirely dependent on advertising; the group generated €1,434.2 million in ad revenue in H1 2024, out of €1,476.5 million in consolidated net revenue.
The company also differs in its pan-European structure, operating the Mediaset networks in both Italy and Spain, as CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi explained: “MFE has a unique model in Europe. Thanks to the Group’s international dimension – a geographical diversification that mitigates imbalances in the different markets – and thanks to our increasingly advanced cross-media system, once again this half-year we have achieved results above all expectations.”
Regardless, the group acknowledged ongoing macroeconomic volatility affecting the European media market, noting the “drastic” job cuts that have hit much of the broadcasting sector.
“In the first half of the current financial year, against an overall international backdrop that remains extremely unstable, the Group achieved a significant increase in advertising revenue,” the company said.
Market rebounds
Despite the prevailing macroeconomic headwinds, the results reflect a brighter advertising climate in Italy compared to the first half of last year. In H1 2023, MFE’s Italian revenues were down on the year before, inviting favourable comparisons for the first six months of 2024.
Conversely, the Italian TV market picked up in the second half of 2023, prompting 8 percent YoY revenue growth for Mediaset Italia. The company flagged that the end of 2024 will be “compared with extremely strong advertising revenue performance for MFE in Italy in the same period of 2023.”
The group also reported signs of “significant improvement” in Spain, following a tough year for MFE’s Spanish business, when full-year revenues dropped 2.2 percent YoY. The company cited ongoing updates to its TV and digital editorial offering in Spain, having closed its digital news outlet Nius at the end of 2023, redeploying its staff to Mediaset España’s main channels, Telecinco and Cuatro.
MFE said its ad revenue growth was supported by “excellent results on the broadcasting level” during the six-month period. In Italy, Mediaset captured a 39.8 percent share of the commercial target audience (15-64 years) over the 24-hour period. But that audience share was lower in Spain at 28 percent.
Looking ahead
Turning to the rest of the year, MFE expects Q3 ad revenue growth to continue in line with the first half of the year, but remains uncertain on market conditions for Q4.
“For the remainder of the financial year, advertising-market visibility in both geographical areas remains fairly low, taking into account the instability of both the geopolitical context (ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, US presidential elections in November) and the general macroeconomic situation,” the company said.
The group also addressed its investment in ProSiebenSat.1., the German broadcaster in which it holds a 30 percent stake. Earlier this year, MFE proposed a motion to have ProSieben split its non-TV operations, namely its ecommerce and dating assets, to focus on its TV business. ProSieben’s executive board voted against the move, which it said would be solely “in the unique interest of MFE”.
MFE has previously stated it will not make a move to acquire ProSieben unless it streamlines its operations in order to focus on its core TV business. Today the company said it is continuing to monitor its investment, “while remaining confident that it will achieve all objectives declared to the market: focusing on the core entertainment business and harnessing the value of non-core assets.”
The group said it expects ProSieben “to show an improvement in the main earnings and financial results compared to 2023,” when the company’s revenues fell YoY. The German broadcaster has seen more positive results so far this year, posting 5 percent YoY revenue growth in H1, and forecasting 2 percent YoY growth across the full year.
