This time two years ago, only two major streaming services (Netflix and Disney+) were profitable businesses, according to MoffettNathanson. Since then the tide has been turning, as ad-supported tiers and bundling partnerships have helped boost profitability. Most recently, Fox-owned Tubi reported its first profitable quarter in October 2025, while NBCUniversal’s Peacock reached profitability in Q2 2026.
This week’s earnings update from European media group RTL sees the RTL+ streaming service join those ranks, becoming profitable in H1, and therefore contributing significantly to overall growth at the company. RTL Group’s Adjusted EBITA (excluding the impact from its acquisition of Sky Deutschland) was up by €18 million, “driven by the Group’s profitable streaming business and Fremantle,” according to RTL.
“Our streaming businesses deliver strong profitability,” said RTL Group CEO Clément Schwebig. “Streaming revenue and paid subscriptions continue to grow dynamically. As a result, streaming is now expected to contribute around €100 million to our full-year operating profit.”
Diversified revenues
On the advertising front, RTL’s H1 results painted a familiar picture for European broadcasters facing the challenges of a soft TV ad market. In the first six months, growth in digital ad revenues (+10.9 percent YoY) offset declines in linear TV advertising, resulting in flat total ad revenues of €1,395 million.
But RTL’s acquisition of Sky Deutschland, which completed on 1st June, is expected to bolster the business by diversifying the group’s revenue split, according to the earnings report. While advertising is still expected to account for 39 percent of revenues, incorporating the German pay-TV business bolsters the contribution from subscriptions, while content unit Fremantle will bring almost one-quarter of total revenues.
Total group revenue was up 3.9 percent YoY to €2,890 million, according to RTL, “mainly driven by the acquisition of Sky Deutschland in June 2026 and continued streaming growth.” The broadcaster also raised its full-year revenue forecast, accounting for the effects of the acquisition, and now expects 2026 revenue of €7.1 billion to €7.2 billion, up from its March forecast of €6.1 billion to €6.2 billion.
Embracing partnerships
Another key part of RTL’s strategy is to drive streaming growth through new partnerships in Europe, on both the subscription and ad sales sides of the business. In January 2026, RTL Deutschland launched a streaming partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), to bundle RTL+ with HBO Max into a discounted subscription package in Germany, followed by Austria in February.
Meanwhile RTL Deutschland’s Ad Alliance has launched an ad sales partnership with WBD, enabling advertisers in Germany to book advertising on HBO Max directly via the sales house. The group additionally integrated RTL+ into Swiss streaming service Oneplus in March, while the M6+ streaming service is now available to Amazon Prime subscribers in France at no extra cost.
The group also cited the migration of RTL+ in Germany to the Bedrock technology platform as a driver of “significant cost savings.” Bedrock also provides the technical infrastructure for M6+, which reportedly supported an “exceptional increase in audience traffic” during this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
“RTL Group delivered a strong first half performance in 2026, driven by rapid streaming growth, gains in both TV audience and TV advertising market shares, and the successful completion of the acquisition of Sky Deutschland,” said Clément Schwebig. “We also demonstrated the unique power of our content and brands, as the coverage of the football World Cup on M6 and M6+ attracted 60 million viewers and generated exceptional digital engagement.”
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