ProSiebenSat.1 CEO eyes ‘slight growth’ in 2024 as Joyn strategy ‘starting to pay off’

Bert Habets (Source: ProSieben Sat.1)

ProSiebenSat.1 CEO Bert Habets has predicted “slight growth” in revenues over the next 12 months as it pursues its shift to focus on streaming following a torrid two years.

The German media giant signalled improvements last month which were largely confirmed today, following a dismal year as it battled a declining advertising market.

Germany’s ad market has slumped around 10% in consecutive years, prompting an overhaul that saw the company cut a swathe of jobs earlier amid a “realignment” to a digital-first business.

Its annual results were in line with expectations revealed last month with revenue at €3.85bn in 2023, down from €4.16bn in 2022. EBITDA was €578m, down considerably on the previous year’s €678m.

However, Habets was hopeful of stemming losses in 2024, with annual revenue now expected to hit around €3.95bn (plus/minus €150m), with EBITDA coming in at €575m (plus/minus €50m), and the German firm said local programme spending would tick up by around €80m to €1.05bn.

Habets said its recently introduced strategy with streamer Joyn “at the centre” is now “starting to pay off,” with the service seeing 30% user growth year-on-year to take total users to 6.3 million. AVOD revenues rose 37%.

“Our goal is to further increase usage and user base of Joyn with double-digit growth rates per year. We are firmly convinced that a free offering, centred on one platform, is the key to success,” he said.

Habets added that there had been “positive developments” across the business, adding: “We are increasingly focusing on local and live content to strengthen our TV channels and scale Joyn by investing significantly more in this area in 2024.

“Exclusive content is the driver that will enable us to further improve the monetisation of our reach, both in traditional TV and on our digital offerings,” he said, citing “entertainment” as a key focus.

Martin Mildner, group CFO of ProSiebenSat.1, added: “Even though the macroeconomic environment remains challenging, we expect advertising revenues in the German-speaking region to develop positively in 2024.”