ProSiebenSat.1 suffers sharp revenue fall in Q1 as ad market weakens

German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1’s ad revenues slumped by 12% in the first quarter of 2023 as the weakening ad market continues to hit the TV business hard.

Bert Habets

Overall, the company’s revenues fell 20% in the entertainment segment to €527m (US$563m), which it also attributed to the effects of consolidation around the sale of its Red Arrow Studios production and distribution arm.

The Commerce &Ventures sector, meanwhile, recorded revenue growth in the first quarter, driven by the Beauty & Lifestyle business and its online comparison portal, Verivox.

As a group, ProSiebenSat.1 recorded significantly lower revenues overall. In Q1, they amounted to €816m, compared with €941m a year earlier. Another €14m was lost through the takeover of streaming service Joyn.

Bert Habets, CEO of ProSiebenSat.1, said: “As expected, the macroeconomic environment continued to directly impact our advertising business in the first quarter of 2023. This is likely to continue in the second quarter, albeit somewhat less pronounced.

“We are already seeing significant improvements in advertising bookings in June compared with the previous months. At the same time, we expect a noticeable recovery of our very profitable advertising business in the second half of the year, parallel to the forecast economic upswing.”