ProSieben

ProSieben
Logo used since 24 October 1994
CountryGermany
Broadcast areaGermany
Austria
Switzerland
Liechtenstein
Poland
HeadquartersUnterföhring, Germany
Programming
Language(s)German
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerProSiebenSat.1 Media
Sister channelsProSieben Fun
ProSieben Maxx
kabel eins
kabel eins Doku
kabel eins classics
Sat.1
Sat.1 Emotions
Sat.1 Gold
sixx
History
Launched1 January 1989; 35 years ago (1989-01-01)
Links
Websitewww.prosieben.de
Availability
Terrestrial
Digital terrestrial televisionVarious; region dependent (HD)
Streaming media
ProSieben LivestreamWatch Live

ProSieben (German pronunciation: [pʁoːˈziːbən], sieben is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media.

It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company. Although ProSieben produces some of its programming itself, it also airs many American imports. On 3 May 2012, the network launched a pay-TV channel called ProSieben Fun. A third channel called ProSieben Maxx started broadcasting on 3 September 2013.

The three different feeds of the channel are: ProSieben (for Germany), ProSieben Austria (for Austria), and ProSieben Schweiz (for Switzerland and Liechtenstein). The main difference is that they have different advertisements and news for each target country.

The channel uses an English slogan: "We love to entertain you."

ProSieben broadcasts from the Astra 1L and 3A satellites and is uplinked by MX1 (now part of SES Video).

History

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1988–1993

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On 13 October 1988, ProSieben Television GmbH was founded as a successor to Eureka TV. The founding partners were Gerhard Ackermans (51%) and Thomas Kirch (49%). Shortly after, Kirch took complete control of the channel.[1]

On 1 January 1989, ProSieben began broadcasting nine hours of programming a day from Munich.[2] The CEO was Georg Kofler from South Tyrol.[3] ProSieben had 70 employees at that time and claimed to reach 2.44 million viewers.[2]

The station began broadcasting on the DFS Kopernikus satellite in July 1989. Broadcasting hours were gradually increased to 17 hours a day. ProSieben was also awarded the first terrestrial frequency in Munich for a private broadcaster. Starting on 8 December 1989, the station was broadcast via Astra 1A satellite.[2]

On 1 March 1990, the television station moved from Munich-Schwabing to Unterföhring near Munich. At that time, ProSieben had 120 employees. ProSieben has broadcast its programs around the clock since 1 October 1990.[2]

In 1991, ProSieben created a subsidiary called Teledirekt GmbH to promote the spread of satellite technology in Germany. In 1992, although ProSieben was still losing money, it co-founded a special-interest channel, Der Kabelkanal, with German Bundespost TELEKOM. ProSieben held a 45% share. Since initially the channel could only be received via cable connection, the channel helped attract new customers to for Telekom's cable television network. In 1995, ProSieben bought the channel outright and renamed it Kabel 1, and began broadcasting it on the SES Astra satellite.

In July 1992 MGM Media Gruppe München (ProSiebenSat.1 Media today) was established. It was responsible for selling advertising on ProSieben channels. On 24 September 1993, SZM Studios (broadcasting center in Munich, since June 2004: ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion GmbH) was inaugurated. At the end of 1993, ProSieben made a profit for the first time.[2]

1994–1999

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Thomas Kirch in 1995

In 1994, ProSieben started a teletext service. On 24 October 1994, it started using a new station identity and logo. Turnover in 1994 was DM 1.192 billion (now about €786 million) and pre-tax profit was DM 144 million (today about €95 million). On 19 December 1995, ProSieben Television GmbH was transformed into a joint-stock company called ProSieben Television AG (after 1996 ProSieben Media AG, since 2000 ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG). Thomas Kirch remained the main shareholder and the Rewe Group was a co-shareholder[4] with 41.6 percent. The chairman was Georg Kofler.

In 1996, ProSieben was granted a nationwide broadcast license and launched its Internet site. That same year, ProSieben bought AT & TV Merchandising Concepts GmbH and Merchandising München KG. Sales rose to DM 1.69 billion.[2]

Wholly owned subsidiaries of Pro Sieben Media AG in 1998 (incomplete list):

  • Asta Vista
  • Starwatch Navigation
  • MGM Mediagruppe
  • Agentur für Urheberrechte
  • Pro Sieben Business Communication
  • Pro Sieben Home Entertainment
  • ddp news agency

Advertising slots were added for Switzerland in 1997 and Austria in 1998. ProSieben Austria also had its own news broadcast (ProSieben Austria News, formerly ProSieben Austria TopNews). Together with RTL, ProSieben operated a combined slot in Switzerland, which was cancelled after seven months in the spring of 2000. In Austria, there is a program slot on ProSieben Austria, Sat.1 Österreich and kabel eins Austria, which has been continuously expanded. In cooperation with the Austrian station Puls 4, the three-hour morning show Café Puls has been broadcast on all three stations since 2004.

On 7 July 1997, ProSieben went public, the shares were oversubscribed 50-fold. This way a nonvoting preference was used to divide up the shares. A year later, the company was added to MDAX.[5] Berlin brought the inauguration of the DM 12 million ProSieben building in 1998. Kirch Media AG held 58.4% of ProSieben Media AG in 1998.

A news channel, N24 was started in 1999,[6] it went on the air in early 2000. ProSieben wanted to compete with n-tv, which was very popular, mainly because of the stock market boom, and enlarge its family of channels. N24 now has a bigger audience share than n-tv, but is no longer owned by the company. In 1998, ProSieben took over the news agency ddp.[7]

On 19 September 1999, ProSieben began broadcasting digital multichannel sound in Dolby Digital format.[8]

2000–2007

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At the end of 1999, Thomas Kirch brought over his shares in KirchMedia, his father's company, which then made up the majority shares of Sat.1 and ProSieben-Gruppe. On 1 February 2000, the Swiss business lawyer Urs Rohner was appointed CEO of ProSieben; Georg Kofler, who was the CEO of ProSieben since its inception, resigned from the company. Urs Rohner had no experience in the television business. He was appointed at the request of Leo Kirch to legally secure the fusion between Sat.1 and ProSieben.

In March 2000, the ProSieben subsidiary SevenSenses was established, to which in June 2004 merged with the SZM Studios to create the ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion GmbH. On 13 October 2000, 12 years after the founding of ProSieben, the first shares from ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG were traded at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In the following month, the merger of the marketing companies occurred between Media Group Munich (ProSieben) and MEDIA 1, creating SevenOne Media.

With the merger came the founding of the ProSieben Television GmbH, which operates the ProSieben television station.

Managing director of ProSieben was Nicolas Paalzow in 2000. He was succeeded in May 2004 by Dejan Jocic, who was then replaced in December 2005 by Andreas Bartl - who was previously CEO of kabel eins. In May 2008, Thilo Proff became chief of the station,[9] followed by Jürgen Hörner (April 2011).[10] Since August 2012, Wolfgang Link is the managing director of ProSieben.[11]

After 2003, the ProSiebenSat.1 Media belonged to a group of investors surrounding Haim Saban.[12]

In 2005, Axel Springer SE wanted to take over ProSieben for about €2.2 billion, which would have created the third-largest media group in Europe. This purchase, however, at the end of 2005 / beginning of 2006 was not authorized by the Federal Cartel Office and the Commission on Concentration in the Media. On 31 January 2006, Springer finally announced the failure of the takeover. Saban stuck to the intention to sell the channel. On 14 December 2006, the investment companies KKR and Permira took over a majority shares (50.5%) of the stock capital of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG and became new majority shareholder.[12]

In 2007, through the initiative of KKR and Permira, ProSieben bought the SBS Broadcasting Group,[9] for €3.3 billion and financed the acquisition largely through loans.[13]

Programmes

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[14]

Current foreign series

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Current German programmes

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Event show

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  • Bundesvision Song Contest (annually)
  • Die Beste Show der Welt (The Best Show in the World – 8 episodes)
  • TV total events:
    • Turmspringen (diving, annually)
    • PokerStars.de-Nacht (poker, monthly)
    • Stock Car Crash Challenge (like banger racing on a muddy indoor track, annually)
    • Wok-WM (annually)
    • Autoball (football with cars and a very big ball, every two years)

Former foreign series

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Former German programmes

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Former programming blocks

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  • Trick 7 (1991–2004)

Logos

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Audience share

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Germany

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January February March April May June July August September October November December Annual average
1990[15] - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.3%
1991[16] - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 3.8%
1992[17] - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 6.5%
1993[18] - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 9.2%
1994[19] - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 9.4%
1995[20] - - - - - - - - - - - - Increase 9.9%
1996[21] 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[22] 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[23] 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[24] 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[25] 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[26] 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 8.0%
2002[27] 7.6% 6.7% 7.4% 7.4% 6.7% 6.3% 6.7% 6.7% 7.4% 7.5% 7.1% 7.2% Decrease 7.1%
2003[28] 7.3% 6.9% 7.1% 7.3% 7.3% 7.0% 6.5% 6.5% 7.4% 7.3% 7.4% 6.7% Decrease 7.0%
2004[29] 6.9% 7.1% 7.5% 7.2% 7.2% 6.7% 7.1% 6.1% 7.4% 7.5% 7.0% 6.7% 7.0%
2005[30] 6.6% 6.8% 7.0% 7.1% 6.8% 6.8% 6.4% 6.6% 6.5% 6.7% 6.4% 6.1% Decrease 6.7%
2006[31] 6.5% 5.9% 6.8% 6.8% 6.5% 5.6% 6.2% 6.7% 7.3% 7.4% 7.1% 6.3% Decrease 6.6%
2007[32] 6.3% 6.0% 6.6% 6.8% 6.9% 7.0% 6.4% 6.4% 6.5% 6.4% 6.6% 6.2% Decrease 6.5%
2008[33] 6.5% 6.6% 6.8% 6.8% 7.2% 6.0% 6.6% 5.9% 7.0% 6.9% 6.6% 6.5% Increase 6.6%
2009[34] 6.3% 6.1% 6.7% 6.7% 7.0% 6.3% 5.9% 6.4% 6.8% 6.9% 7.1% 6.7% 6.6%
2010[35] 6.3% 5.8% 6.6% 6.9% 6.8% 5.6% 5.9% 6.4% 6.6% 6.5% 6.3% 6.0% Decrease 6.3%
2011[36] 5.7% 5.7% 5.9% 6.4% 6.3% 6.8% 6.2% 6.0% 6.5% 6.8% 6.5% 6.2% Decrease 6.2%
2012[37] 5.9% 5.7% 6.1% 6.4% 6.2% 5.2% 6.0% 5.5% 5.7% 6.0% 6.1% 5.8% Decrease 5.9%
2013[38] 5.1% 5.5% 5.3% 5.4% 5.9% 5.9% 5.9% 5.5% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% Decrease 5.7%
2014[39] 5.4% 5.4% 5.6% 5.6% 5.6% 4.6% 5.2% 6.0% 5.9% 5.9% 5.7% 5.5% Decrease 5.5%
2015[40] 5.1% 5.3% 5.4% 5.4% 5.5% 5.2% 5.3% 5.5% 5.1% 5.4% 5.4% 5.4% Decrease 5.3%
2016[41] 5.2% 5.2% 5.3% 5.2% 5.4% 4.4% 4.7% 4.7% 4.8% 5.4% 5.1% 5.1% Decrease 5.0%
2017[42] 4.7% 4.5% 4.7% 4.8% 4.6% 4.5% 4.1% 3.9% 4.5% 4.7% 4.8% 4.2% Decrease 4.5%
2018[43] 4.0% 4.1% 4.4% 4.6% 4.5%
Market share of ProSieben in the years 1990–2016

The average age of the viewers is 37.4 years (as of 2016).[44]

Trivia

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References

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  1. ^ "1984 - 1988". ProSiebenSat.1. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "1989 - 1996". ProSiebenSat.1. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Dr. Georg Kofler". Kofler Energies. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Rewe wird Großaktionär bei TV-Sender Pro Sieben". DIE WELT (in German). 5 January 1996. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Finanzinvestoren verabschieden sich: ProSieben zieht es in den Dax" (in German). n-tv. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  6. ^ "ProSieben-Gruppe gründet Nachrichtensender N24". new-business.de (in German). Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  7. ^ "1997 - 2000". ProSiebenSat.1. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  8. ^ Johannes Hofmeister. "Fernsehen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland seit 1980". tv-kult.com (in German). Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  9. ^ a b "ProSieben-Chef steigt auf" (in German). manager magazin. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Jürgen Hörner wird neuer ProSieben-Geschäftsführer". t-online.de (in German). 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Großes Stühlerücken: Neue Chefs für ProSiebenSat.1-Sender" (in German). SPIEGEL ONLINE. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  12. ^ a b Michael Hanfeld (15 December 2006). "Haim Saban nimmt Abschied von Pro Sieben Sat.1". Faz.net (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  13. ^ Donald Koeleman (27 June 2007). "ProSiebenSat.1 acquires SBS". Broadband TV News. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Wunschliste". wunschliste.de. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  15. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1990" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  16. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1991" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  17. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1992" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  18. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1993" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  19. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1994" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  20. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1995" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  21. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1996" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  22. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1997" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  23. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1998" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  24. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 1999" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  25. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2000" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  26. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2001" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  27. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2002" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  28. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2003" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  29. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2004" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  30. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2005" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  31. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2006" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  32. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2007" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  33. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2008" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  34. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2009" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  35. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2010" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  36. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2011" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  37. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2012" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  38. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2013" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  39. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2014" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  40. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2015" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  41. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2016" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  42. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2017" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  43. ^ "KEK/Zuschaueranteile 2018" (PDF). kek-online.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  44. ^ Mantel, Uwe (14 March 2017). "Langzeit-Entwicklung des TV-Markts: Wie die Sender gealtert sind - und wer sich dagegen stemmt". dwdl.de. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
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