Warner Bros., German RTL contract deal for movies, series – The Hollywood Reporter

Warner Bros. Entertainment revealed on Wednesday that it has signed a major multi-year contract with Europe’s leading commercial broadcaster RTL Group to supply WB movies and TV series to its television operation. and RTL’s RTL+ streaming service in Germany.

The deal, starting in the first quarter of this year, will see RTL get German rights to Warner and HBO Max series like And just like that, Pretty little liars, Diary of a vampire and The Big Bang Theory. The deal will also provide RTL Deutschland with exclusive territory free TV rights to the upcoming WB, the films, as well as access to the studio’s vast library of films and series. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In terms of features, the Warner Bros-RTL deal includes rights to major studio brands, including Harry Potter and Magical Creaturesas well as the DC superhero franchise Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Batman.

RTL is doubling its streaming volume in an attempt to forge a foothold in the online market alongside global players, such as Netflix and Amazon, in the German market. By 2026, RTL Group says it will spend around 600 million euros ($682 million) annually on content for RTL+ and is targeting a total of 10 million paid subscribers, in both Germany and the Netherlands. (where RTL operates the Dutch SVOD service Videoland).

Warner Bros., which has extensive and lucrative free-to-air and pay-TV deals in Germany, has yet to announce plans to launch its own streaming service, HBO Max, in the territory. this.