Bank: “Strong rebound for ProSiebenSat.1”
July 7, 2021
By Chris Forrester
A comprehensive report from investment bank Exane/BNPP on German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 says that next year Germany and its television ad-market will be the first European market to have recovered to 2019 and pre-Covid levels.
The bank’s study says that it expects a “strong rebound” for advertising this coming half-year and into 2022. Consequently, it has upgraded one of its strongest tips for German broadcasting, and issuing an “outperform” rating on ProSiebenSat.1 and a target price of €25 (currently trading at around €16.40).
The bank’s rationale is based on the addition of Sports coverage. The study said: “Historically, ProSieben had barely any sports in its grid. This has changed recently, as it secured the 2021 and 2023 UEFA U-21 Championship qualifiers (including all friendly matches for 2019-2023 and from 2021 onwards also the final tournaments). Bundesliga: The group has secured nine live matches per season, including the Bundesliga and the second-tier, 2 Bundesliga, the Bundesliga’s season-opening fixtures, as well as the relegation play-offs and DFL Supercup. The group is due to broadcast the Bundesliga from August onwards. ProSieben has these rights for three seasons.”
But non-Sports is also working well. The study added: “Following the success of core shows, for example Germany’s Next Topmodel or The Masked Singer, the group has decided to include 30 per cent more live shows in the primetime schedule for the 2021/2022 season. For example, more than 8 million people watched the finale of The Masked Singer and Germany’s Next Topmodel reached >25 per cent audience share for the target group 14-49 in its finale.”
“From 2023 the group will have its newsroom in-house. Recent hires, such as the Tagesschau presenter Linda Zervakis, should help to drive this forward. She had been with the public broadcaster ARD since 2006, holding the 8pm news slot since 2013,” said the bank.