ProSiebenSat.1 turns in strong Q1 with record Joyn performance

Source: ProSiebenSat.1

Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 has turned in very strong Q1 results following its narrow AGM victory over shareholder MediaForEurope (MFE), when shareholders rejected the latter’s call for a splitting up of the company.

Group revenues were up 6% to €867 million, with growth across both the entertainment sector and its commerce and ventures arm.

Adjusted EBITDA meanwhile soared, growing by 35% to €72 million, with the broadcaster reaping the benefits of efficiency measures put in place last year

The broadcasters saw growth of 5% in advertising revenues in the German-speaking region in the first quarter of 2024.

Digital platform Joyn – key to the company’s strategy – set a record for the second time in a row with 6.5 million monthly video users, according to ProSiebenSat.1.

Joyn’s AVOD revenues also increased by 50%, while digital and smart advertising revenues in the German-speaking region grew by 9% overall.

ProSiebenSat.1 now aims to launch Joyn in Switzerland in June, completing its presence in German-speaking Europe.

Overall, entertainment revenues stood at €554 million for the quarter.

Focus on local content

ProSiebenSat.1 said its focus on local content was paying off, with the market share of the German ProSiebenSat.1 TV stations increasing by 0.2 percentage points to 20.1% in prime time among 20- to 59-year-olds.

The commerce and ventures segment – part of ProSiebenSat.1’s activities that MFE wants to see spun off – grew its external revenues by 20% to €206 million, with the flaconi beauty and lifestyle business and the Verivox consumer advice service leading the growth.

On the downside, the group’s dating and video segment saw revenue fall by 9% to €107 million.

On the strength of the quarter, the broadcaster confirmed its full-year guidance, with the aim of upping revenues to about €3.95 billion and adjusted EBITDA of €575 million – the latter below the 2023 figure of €578 million. The group expects this year’s performance to be muted somewhat by its lack of coverage of the Paris Olympics and the Euros.

“Our strong start to the year shows that we are on the right track. In 2023, we have set a new course both operationally and strategically. In the first quarter, we are now seeing the first clear effects of our efficiency measures,” said Martin Mildner, group CFO.

“At the same time, the advertising business, which is particularly important for us, is continuing to recover. Even though the market and economic environment remains challenging, we are looking to 2024 with confidence. We are therefore confirming our full-year outlook. We will continue to focus clearly on the strategically relevant business areas related to our Entertainment portfolio and continue our consistent management of costs and cash flows.”