Q3 Loss Widens at ProSiebenSat.1

MUNICH: The net loss at ProSiebenSat.1 Media increased in the third quarter to 12.7 million euros, with revenues down to 559.4 million euros, as a result of the challenging ad market.

The broadcasting group hailed its cost-cutting efforts in the quarter, however. CEO Thomas Ebeling explained: "We were able to strengthen our competitive position during the third quarter because we reacted to the market environment in a timely and appropriate manner. In the future, an appropriate investment policy and consistent cost control will continue to be our priority." 

He continued: "Even a challenging market environment offers opportunities to generate additional revenues. Essentially, we need to focus on two aspects. Firstly, we will have to further improve the way we exploit our programming assets, across all platforms. This includes free-to-air TV, but also additional subscription based models, video-on-demand or mobile services. The refinancing of programs through distribution and usage–based fees will play an increasingly important part. Secondly, we will have to adequately market advertising slots that we have not capitalized to date. We have made a good start with ten projects where we already allocate media volume in exchange for a share of revenues. But we also have to develop stronger growth drivers in the classic Diversification segment in order to reduce our dependency on the cyclical fluctuations of the advertising market. One positive example from the last months is the successful expansion of our music business.”  

Free-TV revenues in German-speaking Europe fell 2 percent in the period to 337.3 million euros, while free-TV international revenues were down by 14.4 percent to 149.2 million euros. In the Diversification segment, revenues fell 43 percent to 72.9 million euros.