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ProSieben

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ProSieben
Company typeFree-to-air television network
IndustryBroadcasting, Television
FoundedOctober 13, 1988; 38 years ago (1988-10-13) in Munich, Germany
FounderGerhard Ackermans, Thomas Kirch
Headquarters
Unterföhring near Munich
,
Germany
Area served
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein
Key people
Wolfgang Link (managing director since August 2012)
OwnerProSiebenSat.1 Media
Number of employees
120 (circa 1990)
Websitewww.prosieben.de

ProSieben (, with sieben translating to "seven"; frequently branded as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network under the ownership of ProSiebenSat.1 Media. Established on 1 January 1989, it ranks as Germany's second-largest private television broadcaster. While ProSieben creates some original programming, it predominantly airs American imports. The pay-TV channel ProSieben Fun debuted on 3 May 2012, followed by the launch of ProSieben Maxx on 3 September 2013.

The network provides three distinct regional versions: ProSieben (Germany), ProSieben Austria (Austria), and ProSieben Schweiz (serving Switzerland and Liechtenstein), each featuring customized advertising and news segments. Its English-language tagline is "We love to entertain you."

Transmission occurs via Astra satellites 1P and 1N, with uplink services managed by MX1 (currently part of SES Video).

1988–1993

ProSieben Television GmbH was founded on 13 October 1988 as the successor to Eureka TV. Initially, ownership was split between Gerhard Ackermans (51%) and Thomas Kirch (49%), with Kirch soon acquiring full control.

Broadcasting commenced on 1 January 1989 from Munich, offering nine hours daily under CEO Georg Kofler. The channel started with a workforce of 70 employees and initially reached an audience of 2.44 million viewers. Over time, broadcasting hours were extended, satellite transmission via DFS Kopernikus began in July 1989, and the station secured Munich's first private terrestrial frequency. Starting from 8 December 1989, broadcasts were also transmitted through the Astra 1A satellite.

On 1 March 1990, the company relocated its operations to Unterföhring near Munich, employing around 120 staff members; by October that year, it had expanded to a full 24-hour schedule.

In 1991, ProSieben established Teledirekt GmbH to advance satellite technology adoption in Germany. Despite initial financial setbacks, in 1992 it co-founded the cable channel Der Kabelkanal alongside German Bundespost TELEKOM, holding a 45% share. This channel played a role in supporting Telekom's cable infrastructure expansion and was fully acquired by ProSieben in 1995, subsequently rebranded as Kabel 1 and broadcast via SES Astra.

July 1992 saw the creation of MGM Media Gruppe München (now Seven.One Media) to oversee advertising sales for ProSieben's channels. The SZM Studios broadcasting center in Munich opened on 24 September 1993 (later renamed ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion GmbH). By the close of 1993, ProSieben had achieved its first profitable year.

1994–1999

In 1994, the network introduced a teletext service and unveiled a new corporate identity on 24 October. Revenue reached DM 1.192 billion (approximately €786 million), with a pre-tax profit of DM 144 million (€95 million). On 19 December 1995, ProSieben Television GmbH transitioned to ProSieben Television AG (later renamed ProSieben Media AG and since 2000 known as ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG), with Thomas Kirch as the principal shareholder alongside Rewe Group holding a 41.6% stake. Georg Kofler continued as chairman.

The year 1996 marked the acquisition of a nationwide broadcasting license and the launch of ProSieben’s website. The company also purchased AT & TV Merchandising Concepts GmbH and Merchandising München KG, boosting sales to DM 1.69 billion. By 1998, wholly owned subsidiaries included Asta Vista, Starwatch Navigation, MGM Mediagruppe, Agentur für Urheberrechte, Pro Sieben Business Communication, Pro Sieben Home Entertainment, and the ddp news agency.

Advertising opportunities expanded into Switzerland in 1997 and Austria in 1998; ProSieben Austria developed its own news programming. Until spring 2000, ProSieben partnered with RTL to operate a joint Swiss advertising slot. In Austria, airtime on ProSieben Austria, Sat.1 Österreich, and kabel eins Austria has steadily increased. Since 2004, these stations have broadcast the morning show Café Puls in collaboration with Puls 4.

On 7 July 1997, ProSieben went public with shares oversubscribed fiftyfold through nonvoting preference shares. The company joined the MDAX index in 1998. At that time, Kirch Media AG held a majority stake of 58.4% in ProSieben Media AG; also that year saw the opening of a DM12 million building in Berlin.

In response to the stock market boom of the late ’90s, ProSieben launched N24 news channel in early 2000 to rival n-tv; although N24 now commands a larger audience share than n-tv, it has since been divested by ProSiebenSat.1. The acquisition of ddp news agency occurred in 1998.

On 19 September 1999, ProSieben pioneered digital multichannel sound broadcasts using Dolby Digital technology.

2000–2007

At the close of 1999, Thomas Kirch divested his shares in KirchMedia, which controlled majority interests in Sat.1 and ProSieben-Gruppe. On 1 February 2000, Swiss attorney Urs Rohner succeeded founding CEO Georg Kofler as ProSieben's chief executive. Rohner was appointed at Leo Kirch's behest to ensure the legal consolidation of Sat.1 and ProSieben, despite his lack of prior experience in television.

In March 2000, ProSieben established the subsidiary SevenSenses, which later merged with SZM Studios in June 2004, creating ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion GmbH. On 13 October 2000, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG made its initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The following month saw the merger of marketing entities Media Group Munich (ProSieben) and MEDIA 1 into SevenOne Media, alongside the creation of ProSieben Television GmbH to manage the ProSieben channel.

The role of ProSieben's managing director saw several changes: Nicolas Paalzow (2000), Dejan Jocic (May 2004), Andreas Bartl (December 2005), Thilo Proff (May 2008), Jürgen Hörner (April 2011), and Wolfgang Link beginning August 2012.

Post-2003, investor Haim Saban's consortium acquired significant holdings in ProSiebenSat.1 Media. In 2005, Axel Springer SE attempted a €2.2 billion acquisition aiming to establish Europe's third-largest media conglomerate; however, regulatory bodies blocked this initiative early in 2006. Springer retracted the offer on 31 January 2006. Subsequently, on 14 December 2006, private equity firms KKR and Permira secured a controlling interest (50.5%) in ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG.

In 2007, under the guidance of KKR and Permira, ProSieben completed the €3.3 billion acquisition of the SBS Broadcasting Group, primarily funding the transaction through borrowed capital.

Post-2007

On 12 February 2015, ProSieben unveiled a refreshed on-air design highlighting "new dimensions," while maintaining its established slogan and signature sound branding. This updated visual identity premiered at 8:13 pm just prior to launching the tenth season of Germany's Next Topmodel.

Current foreign series

Current German programming

Event shows

  • Bundesvision Song Contest (annual competition)
  • Die Beste Show der Welt (The Best Show in the World – total of 8 episodes)
  • TV total special events:
    • Turmspringen (diving competition, held yearly)
    • PokerStars.de-Nacht (monthly poker event)
    • Stock Car Crash Challenge (annual banger racing on a muddy indoor track)
    • Wok-WM (held annually)
    • Autoball (football played with cars and a large ball, biennial occurrence)

Previously aired foreign series

  • 8 Simple Rules (titled Meine wilden Töchter)
  • 90210 (2009 broadcast)
  • Alias (known as Alias – Die Agentin) aired 2003–2004 and 2007–2008
  • Aliens in America (aired in 2009 and again in 2015)
  • American Horror Story (2013 season broadcast)
  • Angel (titled Angel - Jäger der Finsternis) from 2001 to 2005
  • Body of Proof (aired in 2011)
  • Booker (1993–1994 seasons)
  • Brothers & Sisters (broadcast in 2007)
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer (known as Buffy – Im Bann der Dämonen) aired from 1998 to 2005
  • Charmed (titled Charmed – Zauberhafte Hexen)
  • Chuck aired during 2009 and again from 2013 to 2016
  • Code Black broadcast between 2016 and 2017
  • Cold Case known as Cold Case – Kein Opfer ist je vergessen
  • Crisis aired in 2016
  • Dawson's Creek broadcast from 2001 to 2004
  • Desperate Housewives
  • Devious Maids titled as Devious Maids - Schmutzige Geheimnisse, aired in 2014
  • Diagnosis: Murder ran from 1993 to 1998
  • Doctor Who aired in 2008
  • Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, also known as Apartment 23
  • Early Edition, titled as Allein gegen die Zukunft
  • Empire, broadcast between 2015 and 2017
  • ER, known as Emergency Room – Die Notaufnahme
  • Eureka, aired from 2008 to 2013
  • Everybody Hates Chris
  • Everybody Loves Raymond
  • Falling Skies aired during periods of 2011–2012 and in 2015
  • Family Matters broadcast from 1995 through to 2003
  • FlashForward aired in the year 2010
  • Friends shown between the years of 2000–2006 and again in 2015
  • Ghost Whisperer
  • Gossip Girl
  • Greek aired in the year 2010
  • Grounded for Life
  • Harper's Island
  • Hawthorne
  • Highway to Heaven broadcast during the period of 1991–1992
  • Homeland
  • Hope & Faith aired in the year 2013
  • Hotel shown in the year 1994

...

Previously aired German shows

  • 17 Meter – Wie weit kannst du gehen?, presented by Klaas Heufer-Umlauf and Joko Winterscheidt (2011–2012)
  • 18 – Allein unter Mädchen (2004–2007)
  • Absolute Mehrheit (quarterly political discussion program) (2012–2013)
  • Alles außer Sex (2005–2007)
  • Arabella, with host Arabella Kiesbauer (1994–2004)
  • Arabella Night, hosted by Arabella Kiesbauer (1996–1997)
  • Avenzio – Schöner leben!
  • Axel! will's wissen!
  • Bravo TV (2005–2007)
  • Bully & Rick
  • Bullyparade (1997–2011)
  • CineTipp
  • Circus HalliGalli, led by Klaas Heufer-Umlauf and Joko Winterscheidt (2013–2017)
  • comedystreet (2002–2013)
  • Crazy Competition
  • Das Duell um die Geld, hosted by Klaas Heufer-Umlauf and Joko Winterscheidt (2016–2017)
  • Das Geständnis – Heute sage ich alles
  • Der kleine Mann
  • Die ProSieben Märchenstunde
  • Die ProSieben MorningShow (2009)
  • Die Reporter (1992–2000)
  • Focus TV (1996–2009)
  • Fort Boyard (2000, 2002)
  • Galileo Mystery
  • Joko und Klaas – Die Rechnung geht auf uns
  • Kalkofes Mattscheibe (2003–2008, 2010, 2012)
  • Lebe deinen Traum!
  • Mein bester Feind, hosted by Klaas Heufer-Umlauf and Joko Winterscheidt (2014–2016)
  • Night-Loft (2005–2011)
  • Noch Besserwissen (rebroadcasts)
  • Ahnungslos
  • Popstars (2003–2012)
  • Prompt (2004–2005)
  • ProSieben Funny Movie
  • ProSieben Reportage
  • ProSieben Spätnachrichten
  • Prosieben Spezial – Wissen Weltweit
  • Quatsch Comedy Club (1997–2015)
  • Quizboxen
  • SAM (1995–2009)
  • Schlag den Henssler, hosted by Elton (2017–2018)
  • Schlag den Raab, presented by Steven Gätjen (2006–2015)
  • Stromberg (2004–2015)
  • Studio Amani (2016)
  • superspots – Die besten Clips im Umlauf (reruns)
  • Switch (reruns)
  • Switch reloaded
  • talk talk talk (1999–2016)
  • talk talk talk fun (2006–2007)
  • The Next Uri Geller (2008–2009)
  • TV total, hosted by Stefan Raab (1999–2015)
  • U20 – Deutschland, deine Teenies
  • Unter fremden Decken
  • Wunderwelt Wissen

Discontinued programming segments

  • Trick 7 (1991–2004)

Germany

January February March April May June July August September October November December Yearly average
1990 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.3%
1991 - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 3.8%
1992 - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 6.5%
1993 - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 9.2%
1994 - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 9.4%
1995 - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 9.9%
1996 9.8% 9.6% 9.8% 9.4% 9.7% 8.9% 8.9% 9.0% 10.1% 10.2% 9.2% 9.4% Decrease 9.5%
1997 9.7% 9.3% 9.7% 9.0% 9.1% 9.6% 9.3% 9.2% 9.6% 9.6% 9.3% 9.0% Decrease 9.4%
1998 9.4% 8.0% 8.2% 8.3% 9.3% 7.9% 8.4% 8.7% 9.0% 9.0% 9.2% 9.1% Decrease 8.7%
1999 8.9% 8.7% 8.5% 8.6% 8.0% 8.3% 8.3% 8.3% 8.2% 8.6% 8.6% 7.8% Decrease 8.4%
2000 8.5% 8.5% 8.1% 8.3% 8.5% 8.0% 8.1% 8.4% 8.1% 8.2% 8.3% 7.9% Decrease 8.2%
2001 8.2% 8.4% 8.5% 8.8%% 8,7%% 8,5%% 7,4%% 7,7%% 7,7%% 7,7%% 7,8%% 7,2%% Decrease 8%
2002 (values fluctuated between 6 and 7%) Decrease 7%
2003–2006 (ratings generally ranged from 6 to 7%) Decrease approximately 6-7%
2007–2010 (viewership hovered around 6 to 6,5%) Decrease approximately 6-6,5%
2011–2014 (audience shares near 5 to 6%) Decrease approximately 5-6%
2015–2018 (figures close to 4 to 5%) Decrease approximately 4-5%

In 2016, the typical viewer's age was calculated at 37.4 years.[1]

In popular culture

  • The ProSieben network and its program Newstime made two brief appearances in the film Captain America: Civil War. The initial scene took place in a Berlin hotel room where Helmut Zemo was examining a Soviet journal related to The Winter Soldier. Michael Marx and Laura Dünnwald featured as themselves.

External links

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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