ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE
Our Executive Board
Strong team: Rainer Beaujean, Wolfgang Link and Christine Scheffler have been leading ProSiebenSat.1 as the Executive Board team since March 26, 2020. Between them, they have what it takes to manage the Group today and tomorrow. In 2020, they kept ProSiebenSat.1 Group stable throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and took important steps to continue pushing forward the Company’s transformation.
Rainer Beaujean
Chairman of the Executive Board & Chief Financial Officer
2020 is a year to remember. Not just because the COVID-19 pandemic presented everyone, including our Group, with unprecedented challenges but also because we as a team saw the situation as an opportunity. As the new Executive Board trio, our task from day one has been to steer ProSiebenSat.1 safely through this crisis. Since ours is an early-cycle business, we were among the first to feel the effects of the economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, we have reduced costs and strengthened our financing without losing sight of our future plans. Continued investment in our programming is a testimony to our confidence in TV as a medium. We acquired the US online dating provider The Meet Group and merged it with our Parship Group, because we believe in the dating business as an important growth driver for our Group. By the same logic, we divested businesses that no longer contribute to our Group and have thus achieved impressive increases in value, because we believe in a focused positioning as a success driver.
This is why our strategy today has a tighter, clearer focus on our goals: We need to leverage the synergies between entertainment, dating and commerce & ventures even better. We need to diversify even more and use our entertainment business as a springboard for this. We must be results-oriented and work on our profitable growth.
We believe in the medium of TV. In the dating business as an important growth driver for our Group. And in a focused positioning as a guarantee for success.
2020 not only proved that this is the right path but also rewarded our efforts: Despite all the corona constraints, we had outperformed our latest full-year outlook. Naturally, we are expecting more in 2021. That is why we are systematically pursuing our strategy and positioning ProSiebenSat.1 to succeed and create value in the long term – with and for our more than 7,100 employees worldwide.
Wolfgang Link
Member of the Executive Board & CEO of Seven.One Entertainment Group
In 2020, we took a big step forward in the entertainment business: By founding the Seven.One Entertainment Group, we finally bundled the entire value chain under one umbrella – from content through distribution to monetization. In the process, we have sharpened our focus on what we are really good at – local, relevant and live entertainment and infotainment in German-speaking countries. Whether it’s great show formats, gripping sports broadcasts or current news programs in prime time – last year, our programming once again drew more viewers in front of their screens. Increasingly, our own production companies are adding to our efforts in this regard. After all, it’s our content that sets us apart. Not just in viewers’ but also in advertisers’ minds. 2020 drove home for them once again the power and impact that TV advertising has – especially in times of crisis.
We have come a great deal closer to our goal of establishing a platform-independent entertainment segment.
Nevertheless, our ever-changing market environment continues to present us with challenges: Which is why our task is now to be all the smarter about distributing our content across various platforms with a view to giving TV more digital dimensions and advantages. In this way, we aim to capitalize further on our extensive reach. In 2020, we have not only shown that we can produce and market outstandingly well under the most difficult pandemic conditions. We have come a great deal closer to our goal of establishing a platform-independent entertainment segment.
Christine Scheffler
Member of the Executive Board & Chief Human Resources Officer
2020 was a year of major challenges for many people. This makes it all the more important to take responsibility, to support, to show perspectives. For us, it was clear from the beginning of the pandemic that the health of our employees was our top priority. Whether in the US or Europe: outside of traditional broadcasting, our approximately 7,100 employees have been working at home ever since. In addition, we are proud that we add value to society with our programs and digital content. As part of Germany's and Austria's critical infrastructure, we take our responsibility associated with this very seriously. That is why we not only provided comprehensive information on the pandemic in 2020, but also decided to build up a new, 60-person news team by the end of 2022.
Because promoting democracy and ensuring diversity of opinion is part of our self-perception. In addition, we support our customers in their everyday lives with our digital offers. Parship, for example, introduced a video dating function at short notice so that people can continue to meet each other safely. And where do we stand after the pandemic? The challenges will remain.
Promoting democracy and ensuring diversity of opinion is part of our self-perception.
For us as a company, for the economy and society, with regard to diversity, social issues and the environment. We have not lost sight of all these important issues. And the pandemic has already taught us one thing: we can move a lot if we approach it together.