With the acquisition of the 100% of the shares from Warner Bros. Discoveryof the streaming platform Joyn, ProSiebenSat.1reinforces its streaming plan in the German-speaking region. This announcement places the platformin the center of the digital entertainment strategy of the German giant media company.
ProSiebenSat.1 Groupacquired the outstanding 50% of the shares in Joyn from Warner Bros. Discovery, a joint venture established in 2017 that has been operating under the name Joyn since 2019. From day one, the streaming platform has focused on a strong, free and thus advertising-financed offering, as well as an exclusive subscription service. With over 30 million app downloads and 4 million unique users per month, it has firmly established itself on the market after three years.
In the future, Joyn will be transferred to ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE’s Entertainment segment as a wholly owned subsidiary. The German media grouop is making the streaming platform an integral part of its value chain and placing Joyn at the center of its digital entertainment presence. In addition to content from ProSiebenSat.1 and other content partners, Joyn users will continue to have on-demand access to free, advertising-financed content from Warner Bros. Discovery. Users of the Joyn PLUS+ subscription offer can also obtain access to discovery+, which entitles them to use the streaming service for twelve months. Antitrust clearance is expected from October 1, 2022.
Rainer Beaujean, Group CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE: ‘By acquiring all shares, we are continuing our digital transformation. We are now making Joyn the first point of contact in our digital ecosystem and thereby benefiting from synergies within the Group. In line with our strategy, we are extending our reach, especially among young target groups, and creating new opportunities for monetization. Full control over gives us the entrepreneurial flexibility we need’.
Wolfgang Link, Member of the Executive Board of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (responsible for Entertainment): ‘With the complete takeover, we are making it the most important cornerstone of our digital content offering from now on – and we have big growth plans. We are further expanding our offering with local, relevant live content, thus successively increasing our marketable total reach and opening up additional monetization opportunities: we want to make Joyn the largest freely accessible streaming platform for premium video content in the German-speaking region’.
‘In addition to more and more previews from our group of stations, it will expand its range of live events and Joyn Originals with the stars of the very young target group and attention-grabbing reality formats such as the dating show Love is King and the impro series INTIMATE. It will remain an aggregator platform in the live streaming segment, and we look forward to new content partnerships’, he completed.
Ralf Peter Gierig, Member of the Executive Board & Group CFO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE: ‘As expected, the Group will initially be impacted at the level of adjusted EBITDA. Nevertheless, it still expects this year’s adjusted net income to be around the previous year’s level. In the years to come, we will also be able to use income tax loss carry-forwards at the level of Joyn of well over €400 million, which could not have been utilized by us in this amount in the previous joint venture. With regard to dividend, this is important news for all shareholders’.
The company will focus in three main areas. First, a more efficient value creation from in-house programming. Full integration will enable the group to create more efficient value for its in-house programming in the future and offer new opportunities for monetization. All in-house content can be used in a more flexible, user-friendly and profitable manner across all channels.
Joyn brand can be integrated into all digital platforms of the Dating & Video and Commerce & Ventures segments, including inventory and content utilization by the Group: a growing broadcaster video on demand (BVOD) that focuses on an increasingly personalized offering. By the end of the year, it will offer a continuously growing number of different FAST channels with +35,000 fictional series and reality, magazine, infotainment and sports content available for free.
Second, expansion of monetization opportunities.The platform has already increased the marketable watchtime of its users by around 20% compared with the previous year (June 2021 to June 2022). Moreover, it is already positioned as a high-quality video brand in the advertising industry. In the first half of 2022, the streaming provider increased its advertising bookings by 50% compared to the previous year.
Third, focusing and expansion of the distribution offer. In spring 2022, ProSiebenSat.1 discontinued all the individual stations’ apps and made Joyn the single point of contact for the group content on connected TVs, smartphones and all other devices. The digital ecosystem also includes the single-sign-on registration service 7Pass with its more than 20 million registered users.
