Bedrock, a French technology company co-owned by RTL Group and Groupe M6, has built the tech platform for RTL Group’s streaming services in France (M6+), the Netherlands (Videoland) and Hungary (RTL+). Today, more than 45 million users rely on Bedrock to deliver a seamless viewing experience across all screens.

Having RTL+ in Germany follow suit and join forces with Bedrock is the next logical step to bundle RTL Group’s resources in streaming technology – in particular, since the tech teams at Bedrock and RTL+ in Germany have gained comprehensive and complementary experiences with different business models, countries and features.

The management teams of RTL Group, RTL Deutschland, Groupe M6 and Bedrock aim to use a unified, flexible and state-of-the-art tech platform for all streaming services in the Group. A platform that supports multiple content types, from TV/video, podcasts to audiobooks. This platform will be based on the current Bedrock platform.

With this move, Bedrock will enhance its scale and innovation capabilities, strengthening its appeal as a strategic streaming partner for RTL Group and external companies across Europe and beyond.

Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, says: “Alliances and partnerships are one of our strategic priorities to successfully compete with the global tech platforms. Bedrock and RTL+ in Germany have outstanding and unique strengths – having them join forces will create a true European champion in streaming technology. The migration will also contribute to reaching profitability with our streaming business in 2026 and to further growing Bedrock.”

The envisaged migration plan is subject to information and consultation processes with the concerned works councils. The key elements of this plan would be:

• Bedrock will have a German subsidiary, based in Cologne, in which a part of the current tech team of RTL+ will work.
• Over the next months, RTL Deutschland will inform its involved teams and relevant works councils on an ongoing basis in more detail about the planned next steps, including the envisaged workforce reduction at RTL Deutschland.
• Initially, Bedrock Germany will be responsible for the development of elements specifically aimed for RTL+ in Germany such as user onboarding, billing & payment and recommendation engine.
• The goal is to finalise the migration of RTL+ in Germany to the Bedrock platform in early 2026 which would generate significant cost savings in the long run.
• Headquartered in Paris, the enlarged Bedrock company will have three tech offices in Lyon (France), Lisbon (Portugal) and Cologne (Germany). Jonas Engwall, CEO of Bedrock since 2019, will continue to lead the company.
• RTL Deutschland will become a direct shareholder in the enlarged Bedrock company. The members of the Board of Bedrock are: Elmar Heggen (Deputy CEO and COO of RTL Group), Björn Bauer (CFO of RTL Group), David Larramendy (Chairman of the Executive Board of Groupe M6), Valéry Gerfaud (Chief Technology & Innovation Officer of Groupe M6); Andreas Fischer (Chief Operating Officer of RTL Deutschland; EVP Business Development of RTL Group), Mouna Sepehri (Managing Partner and Co-founder of Orson).

David Larramendy, Chairman of the Executive Board of Groupe M6, says: “We are pleased that Bedrock plans to continue its international expansion with the addition of RTL+ in Germany. The planned migration confirms Bedrock’s strategy to share technological resources between major broadcasters, and would be a positive step forward for all parties.” 

Stephan Schmitter, CEO of RTL Deutschland, says: “Our RTL+ product and tech team has already achieved a lot, successfully launching the first all-inclusive entertainment offer on the market. To further secure our top-three position in the German streaming market, it is essential to bundle our resources. The combination of Bedrock and the best features and tech experts from RTL+ will create a unified platform that all RTL Group streaming services can use in the future to provide their users with an excellent product experience.”