ProSiebenSat.1 highlights ad-focused streaming strategy, rejects RTL merger idea

ProSiebenSat.1 believes that an advertising-focused offering with a slim premium layer is the best way to maximise returns from streaming in an environment where subscription growth is levelling off.

Rainer Beaujean

Speaking to analysts after the group posted its year-end results, CEO Rainer Beaujean said that the company’s streaming offering, Joyn, was “the cornerstone of our digital platform strategy” and that “we believe in our advertising video-on-demand offering because it perfectly fits the zeitgeist”.

He said that German consumers were willing to spend a maximum of €17 a month on an average of two and a half streaming services on the subscription model, which meant that “large subscription providers are reaching the limits of their growth” iin the German market.

Beaujean said that ProSiebenSat.1 was “convinced of the success of our hybrid model” that combines closeness to “our free TV channels” with “a slim but highly attractive subscription offering to attract new customers.”

That meant that investment in advanced advertising including addressability made sense, he said, highlighting that addressable TV campaigns from the group had increased by 20% last year, witgh more than 60 campaigns benefiting from its cross-device offering.

Earlier Beaujean had poured cold water on the idea of a merger with RTL Group, arguing in a press briefing that his group did not need such a merger to succeed commercially and that German competition law would not permit a combination of this type.

He also said that the two groups differed culturally and that he believed that RTL’s strategy of investing in programming for paid streaming services was the wrong approach.