Comcast has finally found a buyer for its satellite-based pay TV service in Germany, with Luxembourg-based RTL Group agreeing to acquire Sky Deutschland for $175 million, the companies announced on Friday.
As part of the transaction, RTL Group will also acquire Sky Deutschland’s pay TV business in neighboring countries Austria and Switzerland, which comprise the “DACH” business region, and RTL will have the right to use the Sky branding in other territories where it operates, including Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol.
The transaction also includes Now TV, a subsidiary of Sky Deutschland that offers linear TV channels over the Internet. The platform will likely be folded into RTL Plus over time.
While based in another country, RTL Group is the biggest privately-held broadcaster in Germany, with its core suite of channels — RTL, RTL Zwei (RTL 2) and Super RTL — along with news channel NTV and entertainment network Vox long offered on the satellite platform.
Sky Deutschland launched its operations in 1991 under the Premiere brand. News Corporation, the former parent company of Sky Group, bought a 15 percent stake in Premiere nearly two decades ago, and then acquired full control of the satellite service in 2014.
Comcast acquired Sky Deutschland as part of its broader purchase of Sky Group in 2019. Almost immediately afterward, Comcast began looking for potential buyers two years ago after the German pay TV business was weighing down its balance sheet.
RTL Group is primarily interested in Sky Deutschland’s live sports rights — including domestic rights to Formula 1, Premier League and the Bundesliga, Germany’s top soccer franchise — as it seeks to compete against foreign streaming services like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video, which have made inroads in the DACH region.
“he combination of RTL and Sky is transformational for RTL Group. It will bring together two of the most powerful entertainment and sports brands in Europe and create a unique video proposition across free TV, pay TV and streaming,” Thomas Rabe, the CEO of RTL Group, said in a statement. “t will boost our streaming business, with a total of around 11.5 million paying subscribers, further diversify our revenue streams and make us even more attractive for creative talent, rights holders and business partners.”
Rabe said RTL Group will see annual synergies valued at nearly €250 million, or $293 million.
“Sky Deutschland has made significant progress over the past three years, delivering strong operational performance and reaching a record number of customers.,” Dana Strong, the CEO at Sky Group, said on Friday. “The business is on track to achieve EBITDA break-even, reflecting the success of our turnaround plan. Combining the strength of our brand with RTL builds on that momentum and opens up even greater opportunities. This deal provides a strong platform for long-term success, and ensures Sky continues to share in the growth of the combined business.”
