ProSieben poaches Maker Studios exec for digital

Christian Dankl

ProSiebenSat.1 has poached a digital exec from Disney’s Maker Studios to run its ad-supported VOD services. Christian Dankl will be the German broadcaster’s CEO of AVOD.

The role is a new one at ProSieben, which recently reorganised its digital business.

That internal restructure saw ProSieben COO Christopher Wahl take the chairman role at the digital unit, which in turn was split into Digital Ventures & Commerce and Digital Entertainment divisions.

Dankl will oversee the AVOD products in the Digital Entertainment unit including the websites associated with ProSieben’s family of channels, the Studio71 MCN business, and multiplatform marketing business SevenOne Media.

He will report to Christof Wahl. At Maker, the Disney-owned MCN, he was a vice president, based in its London offices. Prior to that he was at AdKnowledge and Sony.

ProSieben is on a diversification drive and has told investors digital is a key part of that, setting itself a goal of generating US$1.7 billion from digital products and services by 2018.