In a move that shows how the Berlusconi family is continuing its expansion across the European television market, German commercial TV group ProSiebenSat.1 Media appointed Marco Giordani its new CEO, succeeding Bert Habets.
Giordani joins from MFE-MediaForEurope, where he has served as chief financial officer since 2000. His appointment comes amid ongoing efforts by MFE, controlled by the family of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, to expand its presence in the German media market and strengthen its influence over ProSiebenSat.1.
MFE already has major broadcast assets in Italy — it’s the parent company of leading commercial broadcast group Mediaset — and Spain, where it controls Mediaset España, owner of free-to-air channels Telecinco and Cuatro. The group has positioned itself as a pan-European television operator, seeking to build scale across major markets in response to competition from global streaming platforms.
MFE has steadily increased its stake in ProSiebenSat.1 over the past three years as part of that strategy, framing the move as an effort to foster greater cross-border collaboration in content production, advertising sales, and digital distribution.
Bob Rajan, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, will take over as interim chief financial officer at ProSiebenSat.1, succeeding Martin Mildner. Rajan will oversee the company’s reorganization and profitability measures during the transition. Markus Breitenecker, chief operating officer, is leaving his post with immediate effect. His position will not be replaced at the executive board level.
Maria Kyriacou, chairwoman of the supervisory board, said the new appointments were aimed at advancing the company’s strategic transformation. She thanked Habets, Mildner, and Breitenecker for their contributions during what she described as a decisive period for the group.
The leadership changes follow months of restructuring at ProSiebenSat.1 as the broadcaster continues to streamline operations and focus on its entertainment and streaming business, including its online Joyn platform. The group, which operates free-to-air channels ProSieben, Sat.1, Kabel 1 and Sixx in Germany, is heavily dependent on advertising and is fighting declining revenue as its audience, and its advertising clients, move online, in particular to YouTube.
