Revenues and profits at European production group Fremantle, whose labels are behind films such as Oscar winner Poor Things and Italian box office hit There’s Still Tomorrow, fell in 2023.
Revenue was down by 3.5% to €2.27bn while adjusted EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation) declined 14.2% to €139m.
The figures were published this morning (March 14) as Fremantle parent company RTL Group announced its annual results for 2023.
Fremantle’s revenue fall comes as it seeks to hit a well-publicised target of €3bn in revenues by 2025/26.
RTL Group said Fremantle’s 2023 fall in revenue was “mainly due to timing effects and negative foreign exchange rate effects”.
RTL reiterated its ambition for Fremantle to hit its €3bn target, saying that it is “investing in Fremantle across all three content pillars – entertainment, drama and film, and documentaries”. This year Fremantle has acquired European production group Asacha Media Group and an 80% stake in Asian production company Beach House Pictures.
RTL Group said that Fremantle generated 31% of its total revenue in 2023 from drama and film productions. In 2024, Fremantle will deliver several films such as Queer, starring Daniel Craig, and Without Blood, directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Salma Hayek.
Fremantle labels had five films playing in competition at the Venice Film Festival 2023, including Poor Things from Element Pictures and Priscilla from The Apartment Pictures. Series credits included Disney+ series The Good Mothers from Wildside in Italy and Sam: A Saxon from UFA in Germany. Fremantle labels also produce non-scripted shows such as The Apprentice in the UK and American Idol and America’s Got Talent in the US.
Overall RTL Group revenues fell 5.4% to €6.2bn, with the company blaming lower TV advertising and lower Fremantle revenue. TV ad revenues were down 8.2% year on year, with the Germany market particularly hard hit. RTL said its streaming revenues grew 72.6% to €283m. Its platforms include RTL+ in Germany and Hungary and M6+ in France. By 2026, RTL is targetting around nine million paying subscribers and around €750m of streaming revenue.
Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, said: “In 2023, we demonstrated the resilience of our businesses in a particularly challenging environment. As announced, we invested through the cycle. We grew our streaming services, extended our market leadership positions, in particular in Germany, and released globally acclaimed content.”
Fremantle is the latest in a line of major European groups to post full year 2023 revenues. Last week, Banijay reported revenues of €3.3bn, up by 6% and adjusted EBITDA up by 7% to €494m. ITV’s production group ITV Studios posted a turnover of £2.2bn, up 4% and saw EBITA rise by 10% to £286m.
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