Berlin (Reuters) - The European television group RTL is lowering its targets for 2023 due to the weak advertising market caused by the economic situation.

The Bertelsmann [BTGGg.F] subsidiary announced on Tuesday that it is now only aiming for revenues of around 7.0 billion euros, compared to the previously forecast 7.3 to 7.4 billion euros. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITA) are likely to fall again and, at around 950 million euros, will be a good 50 million euros lower than previously expected. In the first half of the year, turnover fell by 5.1 percent to 3.1 billion euros. The Ebita profit halved to 250 million euros and the bottom line fell by around 57 percent to 132 million euros.

RTL expects stable to slightly growing TV advertising revenues for the second half of the year, but still declining figures in the current third quarter. In the first six months, these revenues fell by 12.5 percent to 1.2 billion euros, with the advertising business performing particularly poorly in Germany. The weak economy, including the energy crisis and high inflation, are causing advertising customers to hold back.

The market environment in the first half of the year was particularly challenging, said RTL CEO Thomas Rabe. "We are convinced that by investing across the economic cycle, we will have further strengthened our competitive positions when the advertising markets recover."

The total number of paying subscribers to the streaming services RTL+ in Germany and Hungary and Videoland in the Netherlands rose by 34.1 percent to 6.0 million. RTL is accepting lower profits primarily due to investments in the streaming business - in content, technology and marketing. This is now lower than expected due to the poor start to the year.

Rabe announced that the sale of magazines from the publishing subsidiary Gruner+Jahr is to be completed this summer. Talks with the future owner of the soccer magazine "11 Freunde" and the art magazine "Art" are well advanced. According to media reports, the "Spiegel" publishing house is interested in both titles. RTL recently already had buyers for the knowledge magazine "P.M." (to GeraNova Bruckmann) and the business magazine "Business Punk" (to the Weimer Media Group).

Following the complete takeover of Gruner+Jahr for 228 million euros on January 1, 2022, RTL is massively reducing the magazine business of the traditional Hamburg publishing house and cutting around 500 jobs. Around 200 more jobs out of a total of 1,900 full-time positions are to be lost through the sale of titles. In addition, around 300 full-time jobs will be cut in other areas of RTL Germany by 2025.

Rabe is currently head of Bertelsmann, RTL Group and RTL Deutschland. The manager, who sees himself in a kind of "chairman role" for the time being, said that the management work at RTL Germany should be spread across several shoulders, as it has been in the past. Rabe signaled that he would relinquish his position as head of the German business by 2025. "This structure is not permanent, at least not for eternity."

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