ProSiebenSat.1 Media

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE

Company type	Societas Europaea
Industry	Mass media, digital services
Predecessor	ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG
Founded	2000
Headquarters	Unterföhring , Germany
Area served	Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Key people	Bert Habets (CEO)
Products	Television channels, digital services
Owner	MediaForEurope (75.61%)
Number of employees	7,188 (2023)
Website	www.prosiebensat1.com

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (commonly known as P7S1, previously ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German-based company specializing in mass media and digital services, with its headquarters located in Unterföhring, near Munich. The majority ownership (75.61%) lies with MediaForEurope. The enterprise operates through three primary divisions: Entertainment, Dating, and Commerce & Ventures. It is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

History

In late 1999, KirchMedia GmbH & Co. KG aA took majority control of ProSieben Media AG. The following year, ProSieben Media AG merged with Sat.1 SatellitenFernsehen GmbH, a Kirch subsidiary, creating a consolidated group that managed prominent TV channels such as SAT.1, ProSieben, and Kabel eins. Since 2 October 2000, the combined entity, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, has been publicly traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Post-merger, ProSieben Television GmbH was formed to unify Sat.1's operations.

Kirch Group Collapse and Acquisition by Haim Saban

A proposed merger with KirchMedia GmbH in 2002 was derailed by the insolvency of the Kirch group, leading to a significant decline in ProSiebenSat.1’s share price.

In 2003, the creditors' committee chose P7S1 Holding—a subsidiary of Haim Saban’s Saban Capital Group—as the purchaser of 71.98% voting rights, establishing it as the principal shareholder. Saban acquired the stake for €500 million. Meanwhile, Axel Springer and the Kirch Group retained stakes of 11.49% and 16.53%, respectively, through investment entities.

Following this acquisition, ProSiebenSat.1 underwent restructuring that included cancelling several television programs. Its channels, primarily targeting viewers aged 14 to 49, held over 30% market share and reported revenues of €1.8 billion in 2002, with profits amounting to €21 million. The workforce exceeded 3,000 employees during that period.

Chairman Urs Rohner stepped down by April 2004 and was succeeded by Guillaume de Posch from Belgium.

In 2005, Axel Springer Verlag proposed a €3 billion bid to acquire ProSiebenSat.1; however, regulatory bodies including the Federal Cartel Office and media concentration commission blocked this transaction. Consequently, Springer withdrew its bid in January 2006.

Acquisition by Permira and KKR

On 14 December 2006, private equity firms Permira and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) purchased Haim Saban’s shares for approximately €3 billion. This acquisition was integrated with their other European media holding, SBS Broadcasting Group, headquartered in Luxembourg. SBS operated 19 private TV channels along with 20 pay-TV channels and radio stations, positioning the merged company as Europe's second-largest television provider.

On 16 July 2007, the company announced plans to reduce its workforce by 180 positions—100 in Berlin and 80 in Munich—by 2009. This restructuring included cancelling two Sat.1 boulevard shows and scaling back news programming.

By 10 December 2007, Axel Springer AG fully divested from ProSiebenSat.1 by selling its entire 12% stake to KKR and Permira for €509 million; the deal was finalized on 16 January 2008. Subsequently, Lavena Holding 5—jointly owned by KKR and Permira—held a 5% share of common stock alongside a 25% stake in non-preferred shares.

Following the SBS acquisition during summer 2007, KKR and Permira extended an option to Telegraaf Media Groep (TMG) for acquiring a 12% common stock position contingent upon waiving pre-emption rights. TMG exercised this option without pre-emption rights in June 2008 and completed the transaction in August.

At the close of 2008, Guillaume de Posch resigned at his own request; from March 2009 until February 2018, Thomas Ebeling served as CEO.

By October 2009, ProSiebenSat.1's debt burden had surpassed €3.4 billion; during this time it focused on servicing loan interest while reducing programming expenditures.

On 29 July 2011, the group divested its Belgian and Dutch television channels for €1.225 billion to a consortium led by Finnish company Sanoma. In December 2012, Scandinavian channels were sold to American firm Discovery Communications Inc. for €1.325 billion. The proceeds were intended to repay approximately €500 million in debts and increase dividends to roughly €5.60 per share; production companies were excluded from these sales.

In March 2012, Red Arrow Entertainment Group acquired a majority stake in British unscripted producer CPL Productions, marking its entry into the UK unscripted television sector.

In February 2013, Permira and KKR began divesting all preferred shares in Lavena Holding 1 (18%), raising nearly €485 million (€24.60 per share) through sales on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This transaction resulted in all preference shares—accounting for half of the share capital—entering free float status.

KKR and Permira divestiture

During the annual general meeting held on 23 July 2013, shareholders of ProSiebenSat.1 approved the consolidation of the previously traded preferred shares with the common shares owned by KKR and Permira. Consequently, only voting common shares remained listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Following this conversion, KKR and Permira’s combined holding amounted to 44% of common shares, relinquishing their majority control. Institutional investors, together with Telegraaf Media Groep, agreed to gradually dispose of their stakes through public market transactions.

On 19 August 2013, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG completed its IPO by listing the formerly unlisted common shares on the MDAX. Subsequently, on 4 and 6 September, Lavena Holding and Telegraaf Media Groep sold a total of 17% of their shares to institutional buyers, which lowered KKR and Permira’s ownership to 33%, while Telegraaf exited entirely.

By the close of 2013, ProSiebenSat.1 announced plans to divest its Eastern European operations. The Hungarian television channels were transferred via a management buyout; meanwhile, Greece’s Antenna Group acquired Romanian TV and radio assets, excluding Prima TV. These deals were finalized in early 2014.

On 17 January 2014, KKR and Permira sold off their remaining holdings. That same year, the company reported a net profit of €550 million, and General Atlantic took a minority equity position in the broadcaster’s digital segment.

In October 2014, ProSiebenSat.1 revealed intentions to restructure as ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE by mid-2015. On 21 March 2016, the company advanced from the MDAX to the DAX index.

To finance growth initiatives, ProSiebenSat.1 executed a capital increase in November 2016 by issuing 14.2 million new shares priced at €36.25 each, generating €515 million and raising share capital by 6.5%. This announcement led to nearly a six percent drop in share price on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

On 19 March 2018, ProSiebenSat.1 was removed from the DAX index and reinstated on the MDAX.

Leadership changes occurred on 1 June 2018 when Max Conze replaced Thomas Ebeling as CEO. After several executive departures and public criticism from Deputy CEO Conrad Albert regarding Conze’s management approach in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung, Conze resigned unexpectedly on 26 March 2020. Albert followed with his resignation on 30 April 2020. Rainer Beaujean assumed the CEO role from March 2020 until October 2022, stepping down by mutual agreement with the Supervisory Board. From 1 November 2022 onward, Bert Habets—formerly CEO of RTL Group’s Management Committee—has been at the helm.

Mediaset assumes control

In May 2019, Italian media firm Mediaset (Mediaset S.p.A.) acquired a 9.6% stake in ProSiebenSat.1 for €330 million through its subsidiary Mediaset España. By November that year, Mediaset had increased its shareholding to 15.1%. On 23 March 2020, Mediaset España further expanded its ownership by purchasing an additional 4.28%, raising Mediaset’s total stake to 20.1%.

In March 2022, Mediaset announced it had surpassed a 25% ownership threshold in ProSiebenSat.1 shares. By December 2022, its parent company MFE applied for regulatory clearance from the Austrian Federal Competition Authority to acquire full control over ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE. This prospective acquisition met resistance from the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, trade union Ver.di, and Bavarian Premier Markus Söder, who expressed concerns regarding editorial independence and employment stability.

In February 2023, Renáta Kellnerová, through PPF Group, purchased a 9.01% interest, becoming the second-largest shareholder.

By 4 September 2025, MFE had increased its stake to 75.61%, cementing Mediaset’s dominant ownership position within ProSiebenSat.1.

Corporate affairs

The primary financial metrics for ProSiebenSat.1, recorded as of December 31 each year, outline its revenue, net earnings, and workforce size:

Year	Revenue (€m)	Net Profit (€m)	Employee Count (FTE)
2017	4,078	471	6,452
2018	4,009	248	6,532
2019	4,135	413	7,265
2020	4,047	267	7,128
2021	4,494	449	7,956
2022	4,163	5	7,501
2023	3,852	–124	7,188

Shareholders

As of 2024, MediaForEurope possesses the majority ownership with 75.61% of the common shares outstanding. Treasury shares represent 2.70%, illustrating the composition of the shareholder base.

Seven.One Entertainment Group

Since October 2020, the Entertainment segment has been operating under the name Seven.One Entertainment Group. This includes Fem Media GmbH, which was acquired in 2008 and rebranded in 2010 as the operator of the women's portal fem.com along with the channel Sixx. Fem Media also oversees sixx.de.

German-language free-to-air and pay-TV channels

Germany	Austria	Switzerland
Free-to-air
Kabel eins Kabel eins Doku ProSieben ProSieben Maxx Sat.1 Sat.1 Gold sixx	Kabel eins Austria Kabel Eins Doku Austria ProSieben Austria ProSieben Maxx Austria Sat.1 Österreich Sat.1 Gold Österreich sixx Austria Puls 4 Puls 24 News ATV (Austria) ATV2	ProSieben Schweiz ProSieben Maxx Schweiz Sat.1 Schweiz Sat.1 Gold Schweiz Kabel eins Schweiz sixx Schweiz Puls 8
Pay-TV
Kabel eins classics ProSieben Fun Sat.1 Emotions wetter.com TV

Seven.One Studios

Seven.One Studios—previously known as Red Arrow Entertainment Group and Red Arrow Studios—is a German holding company specializing in film and television production and distribution under ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It develops both scripted and unscripted content for ProSiebenSat.1 channels as well as international broadcasters.

History

In January 2010, ProSiebenSat.1 Media consolidated its production and distribution operations into Red Arrow Entertainment Group to facilitate global growth by uniting its TV production companies and distribution division under one entity.

By March 2010, Red Arrow had acquired a majority 51% share in Belgian producer Sultan Sushi, marking its initial overseas acquisition. Later that year, it secured controlling interest in Los Angeles-based Kinetic Content to expand into the U.S. market.

In 2011, Red Arrow entered the United Kingdom by purchasing The Mob and broadened its U.S. scripted portfolio through a majority acquisition of Fuse Entertainment. Further UK expansion came in 2012 with CPL Productions and Endor Productions acquisitions; simultaneously, it extended into Israel by acquiring July August Productions.

The global distribution division was rebranded as Red Arrow International in 2012. To enhance its U.S. reality TV footprint, it took a majority stake in Maryland-based Half Yard Productions in 2014.

Studio71 was launched in Berlin in 2013 as a German-language multi-channel network and later acquired U.S.-based Collective Digital Studio. In 2017, Studio71 sold a 30% minority interest to French TF1 and Italian Mediaset to broaden its presence in those markets.

Also in 2017, Red Arrow acquired a controlling stake in Gravitas Ventures, an independent American film distributor that maintains operational independence while partnering on international projects.

December 2017 saw Studio71 merge with over fifteen other companies to form Red Arrow Studios.

In July 2022, Red Arrow Studios divested its U.S. television division by selling it to Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company.

Following this U.S. exit and the establishment of two German production entities—Cheerio Entertainment and Flat White Productions—in November 2022, Red Arrow Studios reorganized and adopted the name Seven.One Studios for its international production and distribution activities; Red Arrow Studios International retained the original branding for distribution purposes.

In June 2024, Seven.One Studios announced it would close Endor Productions—the London-based UK scripted drama company—citing difficult market conditions as the reason for this decision.

Assets

The company's divisions and partial subsidiaries encompass:

• Cheerio Entertainment (Germany)
• Just Friends Productions (Germany)
• July August Productions (Israel)
• CPL Productions (United Kingdom)
  • Nit Television (a collaboration with Harry Hill)
• Snowman Productions (Denmark)
• Endor Productions (United Kingdom)
• Pyjama Pictures (Germany)
• Redseven Entertainment (Germany)
  • Redseven Brand & Digital Studio

Joyn

In May 2017, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE joined forces with Discovery to introduce 7TV, a mobile application offering access to their content libraries along with live streaming of ProSiebenSat.1 channels. By March 2018, the platform had broadened its offerings to include Sport1, Welt, and N24 Doku, with ZDF channels integrated by the end of that year.

June 2018 saw the announcement of plans to unify 7TV, Maxdome, and the Eurosport Player into a single streaming service. Subsequently, Maxdome moved its headquarters to Munich and merged into 7TV Joint Venture GmbH in January 2019.

Joyn debuted in June 2019 as the successor to 7TV, launching Joyn Plus+ in November 2019 to incorporate Maxdome’s content, although Maxdome continued operating until 2020. By May 2021, Joyn had incorporated over 60 channels and by 2023 boasted more than 6.3 million users.

In 2022, ProSiebenSat.1 consolidated its digital applications under the Joyn brand and completed full ownership by acquiring Discovery’s stake in September. The platform expanded internationally by launching in Austria in May 2023—replacing Zappn—and subsequently entering the Swiss market in June 2024.

Seven.One Audio

Established in December 2020, Seven.One Audio unifies the group’s audio ventures and promotes a portfolio of 35 podcasts across Germany, featuring notable figures such as Paul Ripke, Joko Winterscheidt, and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf.

eCommerce

The company founded NuCom in 2018 and sold a 24.9% share to private equity firm General Atlantic. On April 14, 2011, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE launched SevenVentures, which acquired minority stakes in digital retailers including About You and Zalando. In January 2014, it purchased a 23% interest in online retailer Amorelie, becoming the majority shareholder the following year before divesting in 2021. SevenVentures also increased its holding in online perfumery Flaconi to full ownership by 2015 and later transferred these shares to NuCom Group.

Dating & Video

In October 2018, NuCom expanded its portfolio by acquiring eHarmony, a U.S.-based online dating service, complementing its existing 94% stake in German dating platform Parship.

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE further augmented its dating segment in September 2020 with the acquisition of The Meet Group. This transaction combined Parship and Elite Partner with The Meet Group’s platforms to form the ParshipMeet Group, which also includes Lovoo and Tagged.

General Atlantic holds a 45% share in ParshipMeet Group while ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE retains majority ownership at 55%.

Former channels

sonnenklar.TV was divested to BigXtra in September 2005. The pan-Nordic pay-TV network C More Entertainment, consisting of fifteen linear channels, was sold to TV4 in January 2009. The commercial participation channel 9Live operated from September 2001 until August 2011. In 2012, Sat.1 Comedy was replaced by Sat.1 Emotions. The subsidiary Booming was sold to Danish company Blackwood Seven in May 2015.