ProSiebenSat.1 shakes up programming strategy as US studios hold back content

L-R: TV Total host Sebastian Pufpaff, Marc Rasmus, Thomas Wagner, Wolfgang Link, Ellen Koch, Daniel Rosemann and comedian Elton

German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Group has outlined changes to its content strategy in light of what it calls “supply problems” as US studios retain more content for their own platforms.

Speaking during the Screenforce Days event taking place in Germany this week, from the set of hit show TV Total, group executives revealed changes to the schedules of its channels, the main one being the Sunday night slot on flagship net ProSieben.

ProSieben was once a channel for US blockbusters but local content is increasingly taking centre stage. On Sundays in primetime, for instance, it will now focus on locally produced entertainment and factual-entertainment formats.

These include dating show Love is King, based on the UK format of the same name licensed from and produced by ITV Studios, as well as Mission: Job Unknown, in which celebrities in foreign countries receive new job offers.

Channel manager Daniel Rosemann also took the opportunity to spotlight new seasons of shows like Beauty & the Nerd and Die Alm, and announced new reality show How Fake Is Your Love, based on MTV format True Love or True Lies?.

The move turns Sunday night into the fifth evening dedicated to local programming on ProSieben, said Rosemann, who also spoke about changes to sister channel Sat.1.

“At Sat.1, we will place our focus even more strongly on women over 40,” he said, while also confirming that the channel would not be showing scripted reality series in the afternoons anymore but would instead offer studio entertainment formats.

Hollywood programming will in future be shown on Sat.1, Rosemann said, a response to many US studios and former ProSiebenSat.1 partners, such as Disney, holding back their content for their own streamers.

ProSiebenSat.1 Group CEO Wolfgang Link also announced that the most successful unscripted formats of the past season will continue to have a permanent place in primetime on the group’s linear channels.

These include Germany’s Next Top Model, The Masked Singer and Schlag den Star (aka Beat the Celebrity).

“We also promise more investment in new content this year, including with the help of start-up production companies and new deals,” Link said. He added that the company is investing more than €1bn (US1.05bn) in content this year.

He also highlighted Joyn, the streaming platform operated with Discovery, which has established itself very well in the market. Joyn reaches four million unique users per month, and the app has already been downloaded 18 million times.

The German broadcast group also used its Screenforce Days outing to highlight changes to its advertising strategy. “We want to offer our advertising customers more addressable content,” said Thomas Wagner, MD of subsidiary Seven.One Media.

Seven.One Media markets the group’s German-language channels – Sat.1, ProSieben, Kabel Eins, Sixx, Sat.1 Gold, ProSieben Maxx and Kabel Eins Doku – as well as its digital platforms and third-party content.

Seven.One executives stressed that advertisers now have the option to use programmatic (i.e. addressable) advertising for the first time. “Our clients can now book linear TV just like they book digital TV. This is the TV marketing of tomorrow,” said Wagner.

The two-day Screenforce Days is Germany’s largest industry event for TV and audiovisual content. Among other things, the German broadcasters present their programme highlights for the coming season to the advertising industry and media agencies.