Our Approach [DMA]
With its stations, ProSiebenSat.1 Group reaches around 44 million TV households in its TV markets every day in addition to around 24 million unique users every month (as of February 2017) via its web offerings in Germany. The distributed content contributes to the information diversity and opinion-making of viewers and users. We are aware of this high level of journalistic and social responsibility. Therefore, we use the wide reach of our media in a targeted way in order to shine a spotlight on important ecological, social and sociopolitical issues and thus to make a contribution to society as a company. Our public value activities are also aimed at increasing the relevance of our TV stations and media offerings in the public eye and distinguishing ourselves from our competitors in the media industry. As a result of the large number of receivable free and pay TV stations, public value measures in the ProSiebenSat.1 station family also serve as a brand management and loyalty tool. Another key reason for our involvement in this area of activity is the possibility to secure revenues and reduce risks. This is because we can achieve a higher level of acceptance of our offerings and business models with our public value projects among key stakeholders such as viewers and Internet users, politicians and regulators, and advertising customers and media agencies (“license to operate”).
Back in 2011, the Group therefore placed its public value activities in a larger social context and stressed 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-political issues and provides impetus on important topics such as education and culture. In 2016, the Advisory Board met three times. Members of the Executive Board as well as other decision-makers in the Group participated in these events. With a view towards ProSiebenSat.1’s young audience target group, the Advisory Board prioritized the issue of “digital education” in its work, as in the previous year. With the help of appropriate measures, the Advisory Board wants to promote, in particular, the media competences of young people and their orientation in the digital world, as digital competencies are increasingly becoming a prerequisite for social participation and employability. [G4-34, M7]
In addition to the Advisory Board as a governing body, public value projects are selected and implemented based on a bottom-up process. In principle, we focus on the decision-making process on current, socially relevant topics, which particularly concern young target groups. For instance, relevant sustainability issues are identified by the editorial staff of the TV stations and those in charge of PR and marketing, and relevant format ideas and program environments are also developed. One example is the “Green Seven” sustainability brand: The “Green Seven” documentary is broadcast on ProSieben every year and covers a specific environmental topic (2016: “Save the Water”; 2017: “Save the Ice”). It is also accompanied by magazine programs and other shows that focus on the same topic. Collaborations with external partners and staff initiatives also bolster the campaign. The Group provides financial support for this purpose as part of the budgets for stations and departments such as Governmental Relations & Regulatory Affairs. Performance is quantified in some cases and measured for example on the basis of audience shares, staff involvement or the total amount of donations made.
In this report, we have provided detailed information about our commitment to sustainability in the Public Value action area using four specific examples:
We also provide an overview of other significant projects. With our public value activities, we are pursuing four strategic directions: We want to build knowledge, create opportunities, communicate values and engage culture. At the moment, we are working on strengthening the link between our measures and strategies and the political objectives of the United Nations (UN) aimed at ensuring sustainable development at economic, social and environmental level (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). As a first step, we will identify the goals in which we see the greatest potential for influencing by our public value commitment. [G4-56]
