RTL Group to sell RTL Nederland to Belgium’s DPG Media for $1.2bn

Germany’s RTL Group has agreed a deal to sell RTL Nederland to Belgium-based DPG Media for €1.1bn (US$1.2bn) in cash.

Thomas Rabe

The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals and various consultation processes, is expected to close around mid-2024.

As part of the sale, RTL Group and DPG Media will enter into a strategic partnership, covering content as well as technology and advertising sales.

For three years after closing, RTL Group’s broadcasters in Germany, France and Hungary will receive first-look rights for all new programmes developed by RTL Nederland.

Based on a separate trademark licensing agreement, DPG Media will continue to use the RTL brand in the Netherlands at least until December 2034.

Until the closing of the transaction, RTL Group will continue to benefit from all cashflows and profits generated by RTL Nederland, the German media giant said.

RTL Nederland operates a family of TV channels in the Netherlands, made up of five free-to-air TV channels (RTL 4, RTL 5, RTL 7, RTL 8 and RTL Z), three digital pay TV channels (RTL Lounge, RTL Crime, RTL Telekids) and an independent news organisation.

With 1.3 million paying subscribers, Videoland is the country’s number one local streaming service. In 2022, RTL Nederland’s total revenue was €636m, according to RTL Group.

DPG Media, meanwhile, is active in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, with brands in news media, television, radio, magazines and online services and revenue of €1.8bn in 2022.

The deal comes after RTL Group recently revised its financial targets due to the lack of recovery in the advertising markets, while a proposed merger between RTL and Talpa Network in the Netherlands was blocked at the beginning of 2023 by Dutch competition authority ACM.

“After our in-country consolidation strategy was blocked by the competition authorities in January 2023, the sale to DPG Media is the best strategic option for RTL Nederland and all its stakeholders. We are looking forward to the strategic partnership with DPG Media, working closely together on European solutions in advertising and streaming technology, international advertising sales and joint content development,” RTL Group CEO Thomas Rabe said.

“RTL Nederland is a fantastic company. Under the leadership of CEO Sven Sauvé, the company has built a strong culture and achieved extraordinary successes – demonstrated by market-leading audience shares in linear TV, strong growth in streaming and high profitability.

Rabe added: “For several years, we have consistently said that market consolidation in the European TV industry is necessary to compete with the global tech giants.”

Elmar Heggen, deputy CEO and chief operating officer of RTL Group, said: “We know DPG Media well. With a similar entrepreneurial culture, DPG Media will be a very good new home for RTL Nederland, and we are looking forward to expanding our cooperation into a strategic partnership.”

Christian Van Thillo, executive chairman of DPG Media Group, said: “We are very pleased that we have reached an agreement with RTL Group to acquire RTL Nederland, the undisputed market leader in commercial TV broadcasting, and the owner of the highly successful streaming platform Videoland.

“Together with our leading TV brands VTM and RTL Belgium, we will be able to build a group that has the necessary scale to invest in the digital transformation of television. I am looking forward to working with the outstanding leadership team of RTL Nederland and I am also very pleased that we will build a strategic partnership with RTL Group.”