Society

With this approach, ProSiebenSat.1 raises public awareness of socially relevant issues in its programs and platforms, with its own formats, issue films, and campaigns, and generates public value. Public value is generally understood to refer to the value and benefits that an organization provides to society. In the program principles of the German Interstate Media Treaty (MStV), it is already stipulated that private-sector broadcasters should express the diversity of opinions in their content and allow important political, ideological, and social players to have a say in an appropriate manner. The German state media authorities also adopted a charter on public value in fall 2021, which states that media offerings will be easier to find if they are particularly relevant to the shaping of public opinion. In the reporting period, the public value offerings were selected by the state media authorities in a procedure in accordance with section 84 (5) MStV. ProSieben, SAT.1, and Kabel Eins were considered with their broadcasting and telemedia offerings.

ProSiebenSat.1 has integrated the aspects of shaping opinions and promoting democracy into the principles for its commitment to sustainability via the action area of “Social Responsibility”. We want to integrate our sustainability goals more strongly into TV stations’ programming as well as the other platforms and online offerings. We aim to also reach young target groups with sociopolitically relevant topics. The Group Sustainability Office and the Sustainability Officers in the three segments work to increase public value content in all programs and on all platforms by communicating the sustainability strategy in the Group and driving the continuous dialog with the relevant interfaces in the Group.

We consider it our duty to explain current social and political developments for our viewers and users. In 2022, we established an own news team with over 60 journalistically working colleagues who have been producing and broadcasting live news for the entire Group since January 2023. In addition to studios in Unterföhring, we have a capital city studio very close to the German government at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. For further information on journalistic due diligence and the independence of editorial work, please refer to the section:Governance & Compliance

Outside of traditional news shows, we also want to provide a stage for socially and politically relevant topics. As part of our “Green Seven Week”, formats such as “JENKE. Das Klima-Experiment” (JENKE. The Climate Experiment), “Zervakis & Opdenhövel. Live” and “Die ProSieben Politik Show” (The ProSieben Politics Show) focused on the topics sustainability, environment and society. In the new podcast show “Frau Bauerfeind rettet die Welt” (Ms. Bauerfeind saves the world) by and with Katrin Bauerfeind, which has been going out since December 13, 2022, 18 start-ups with sustainable products and concepts are competing for prize money of EUR 100,000. The PULS 4 format “Klimaheld:innen” also won the Austrian Environmental Journalism Award in 2022.

In the show “Joko & Klaas gegen ProSieben” (Beat the Channel), the two presenters Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf compete for a 15-minute slot in prime time that they can use however they wish. They regular use the time that they win to garner both attention and reach for current events such as the protest movement in Iran. In order to increase this reach, they both permanently handed over their high-reach Instagram accounts to two Iranian activists in 2022. In addition to Joko and Klaas, there were also two benefit concerts (“Sound of Peace” and “We Stand with Ukraine”) in Berlin and Vienna, which ProSiebenSat.1 broadcast and co-hosted, devoted to Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the “Ukraine Spezial” special broadcasts. Further public value highlights in 2022 included Iranian singer Rana Mansour’s performance of the protest anthem “Baraye” at the “The Voice of Germany” final, the documentary “Route 4” on sea rescue and refugee routes at sea, the “Kannste Regieren” (Do you know how to govern?) formats with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, among others, and “ProSieben THEMA. Waffen für den Frieden. Deutschland rüstet auf” (ProSieben THEMA. Weapons for peace? Germany is arming itself.).

For further information on social responsibility in the segments Dating & Video and Commerce & Venture, please refer to here.

Furthermore, ProSiebenSat.1 also provides charities with media volume at a large discount or pro bono, sometimes up to a seven-figure sum in euro. As a founding member, ProSiebenSat.1 Group has thus amongst others supported the association startsocial since 2001. In addition to media volume, employees have been supporting the initiative on a voluntary basis as coaches, jury members and on the Advisory Board for several years. startsocial promotes voluntary social engagement all over Germany and, with the German Chancellor as its patron, presents awards and allocates advisory grants to outstanding voluntary initiatives.

Through various charitable, local initiatives or company volunteering projects, our employees are actively engaged in further climate and environment as well as social projects throughout the Group. In addition, the Group, subsidiaries and employees regularly organize fund raising campaigns for charities.

Since 2011, the Group has placed its public value activities in a larger social context and underscored their relevance for the Group by establishing an Advisory Board. The interdisciplinary body chaired by Bavaria’s former minister-president Dr. Edmund Stoiber advises ProSiebenSat.1 Group on relevant social, ethical and media policy issues and provides impetus on important topics such as education and culture. In 2022, the Advisory Board held four meetings, with updates on ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s sustainability strategy regularly featuring on the agenda.