Is it because the British audience didn’t like the German show?

On the contrary. In Germany, after all, Stefan Raab manages to keep millions of people glued to their TV sets for four or five hours at a time. This has to do with more than just his talent as an entertainer.
It is also a cultural phenomenon. It just doesn’t work in TV markets like Italy or the U.K. Therefore, ITV has produced a 75-minute version that runs in prime time. Another difference is that there is only one challenger. In the ITV show, a different celebrity from the world of sports, the movies and TV competes against a single contestant every week. We didn’t find a Stefan Raab in the U.K. But everywhere else “Beat the Star” is just like the German original. ITV uses the same games, logo and music and even films the show in the same studio.

SevenOne International enjoys a lot of success in the non-reality segment. Many buyers choose movies and series entirely on the basis of the script. Is it common to sell movies that have not yet even been made?

It is customary with the major Hollywood studios. For a relative newcomer to the market, like us, it is certainly remarkable and shows how much faith people have in our portfolio. For example, the ProSieben movie “Die Schatzinsel” (“Treasure Island”) ran in over 50 countries. Our industry is highly competitive, which means that our customers have to act more quickly than the competition. Advance sales enable us to help finance movies.

What does it take for a movie to become an international box office success?

We need gripping stories and actors with international appeal. Even our customers broadcast “CSI,” “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.” You have to do something similar to be successful. Fortunately, we have closed the gap enormously here in all areas in recent years, particularly in Germany. One reason is that the technology has become affordable. Five years ago, we could not have produced expensive special effects for TV in

action movies like “Tornado — Der Zorn des Himmels.”Today, on the other hand, we can compete with American post-production companies.

Does SevenOne International also sell programs from the new ProSiebenSat.1 stations?

Last fall, we presented programs by our new stations for the first time at MIPCOM, the TV and film trade show in Cannes. “Santas in the Barns,” for example, was a show from Norway. We are close to signing contracts with a number of countries. With the new channels there is a hugh pool of additional programs and ideas. It is also becoming increasingly more important to represent third-party programs, such as “The Next Uri Geller,” so that we can offer them quickly to our own stations.