RTL offloads Belgian division

European broadcaster RTL Group is selling its RTL Belgium division, which includes three free-to-air TV networks, to Belgian media companies DPG Media and Groupe Rossel for €250m (US$300m).

Elmar Heggen

The TV and radio assets of RTL Belgium include free-to-air channels RTL-TVI (which centres on family, general interest content), Club RTL (children’s, sports, classic movies and series) and Plug RTL (fiction, youth culture, reality).

DPG Media is the parent company of Flanders broadcaster VTM and its sister channels, while Groupe Rossel is a major newspaper publishing group in Brussels and Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium.

RTL only took full ownership of the Belgian group in December 2020 having previously been a controlling shareholder for the previous 33 years, but is now offloading the business for €250m (US$300m).

When RTL Group put its Belgian division up for sale earlier this year, there was reportedly interest from a consortium comprising investment firm Deficom and construction group Besix, according to Belgian daily L’Echo, as well as from Telenet via its broadcast subsidiary SBS Belgium.

The sale comes as RTL Group rethinks its broadcast businesses. Last week, it agreed a deal with John de Mol’sTalpa Network to merge their broadcasting and associated businesses in the Netherlands to create a major new Dutch media group.

RTL Group – which also includes RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France, the RTL channels in Luxembourg, Croatia, Hungary and Antena 3 in Spain, plus streaming services TV Now, 6play, Salto, Videoland and producer-distributor Fremantle – is also set to merge its French business M6 Group with rival TF1 Group to create a new French media giant.

Regarding the Belgian deal, Elmar Heggen, COO and deputy CEO of RTL Group, said: “DPG Media and Groupe Rossel are strong cross-media companies that are well equipped to accelerate RTL Belgium’s digital transformation. The sale is in line with our strategy and the best strategic option for RTL Belgium, its dedicated employees and our shareholders.”

“We would like to thank the management and the team of RTL Belgium for their performance, passion and commitment. Today, RTL Belgium stands for audience proximity, independent information, pluralism of opinion and high-quality entertainment. We are looking forward to the continued cooperation with RTL Belgium, for example with our technical service provider BCE in Luxembourg and the streaming technology company Bedrock.”

RTL Belgium’s radio stations comprise Bel RTL (talk, general interest), Radio Contact (music) and the digital station Mint (pop rock music). The business unit also operates the streaming service RTL Play and the news website RTLInfo.be.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval but is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.