Europe’s leading Entertainment Network announces its interim results to 30 June 2006

[1]Adjusted for the full consolidation of Five and Mistergooddeal.com and other minor scope changes   
[2]EBITA represents earnings before interest and income tax expense excluding amortisation and impairment of goodwill and fair value adjustments on acquisitions and gain from sale of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments, net of income tax expense
[3]RTL FM and digital television channels
[4]Adjusted earnings per share represents the net profit for the period adjusted for amortisation and impairment of goodwill and fair value adjustments on acquisitions and gain or loss from sale of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments, net of income tax expense and one-off tax effects

EBITA, Revenue, EBITA margin up

• Reported EBITA of EUR 478 million, up 26.5 per cent

• Group revenue of EUR 2,854 million, up 19.1 per cent

• EBITA margin improved to 16.7 per cent

• Net profit down to EUR 296 million solely due to one-time tax effect in 2005

• Net cash from operating activities of EUR 424 million resulting in an operating cash conversion of 89 per cent

• Improved advertising conditions in all countries except UK

Almost all profit centres with improved EBITA compared to last year

• Significant EBITA improvement at main profit centres

• FremantleMedia EBITA up 75.0 per cent due to strong business in the US, UK and in distribution & licensing

• Good advertising business, strong performance in our German Profit Centre, EBITA up 40.4 per cent

• Netherlands maintain market position despite new competitor, EBITA more than doubled

• M6 EBITA improves despite further programme investments

• RTL Croatia generates positive EBITA just two years after start

Consistent strategic course continued

• Non-advertising revenue increased to 40 per cent from 37 per cent of total revenue

       o M6 Mobile continues to be spectacularly successful: 
          over 500,000 subscribers after one year of launch 

       o Revenue at M6’s e-commerce business Mistergooddeal.com
          grew by 50 per cent in the first half of 2006 

       o FremantleMedia’s interactive gameshow “Quizmania”, now broadcast in the UK, Poland and Australia, 
          has generated over 50  million calls within its first year of existence 

       o On-demand services under development or already available in many countries

• New digital channels coming in UK and Germany

“Strong performance throughout the Group” 

Gerhard Zeiler, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group said: 

“I am delighted with our performance in the first half of 2006, where we have produced a record Group EBITA. It demonstrates both the strength of all of our business units and our strategic position as Europe’s leading Entertainment Network.” 

“Almost all of our business units further increased their EBITA contributions during the six months to 30 June. We saw improved advertising conditions in most of our major markets (with the notable exception of the UK).”   

“Our content business FremantleMedia also had an excellent first half year driven by strong business in the US, UK and in distribution & licensing. Further, our broadcasters have launched a number of new initiatives aimed at increasing the revenue we receive from non-advertising sources.” 

“We remain cautious but optimistic on the outlook for advertising in the second half of the year where visibility remains limited. Regarding our results, it should be noted that, given the overall positive impact of the Football World Cup on advertising and the timing of FremantleMedia productions, there has been a pronounced phasing effect towards the first half of the year on our EBITA. RTL Group is extremely well positioned to further strengthen its position as Europe’s leading Entertainment Network.”

About RTL Group
RTL Group is the leading European entertainment network, with interests in 34 television channels and 34 radio stations in eleven countries and content production throughout the world. Its television portfolio includes RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France, Five in the UK, the RTL channels in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Croatia and Hungary, Ren TV inRussia as well as Antena 3 in Spain and TVI in Portugal. RTL Group’s flagship radio station is RTL in France, and it also owns or has interests in other stations in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg. RTL Group's content production arm, FremantleMedia is one of the largest international producers outside the US. It is currently producing over 300 programmes in more than 40 countries providing a wide range of drama, entertainment and factual programming for viewers around the world.