It’s not regarding competition between private and public broadcasters, but regarding joint competition once morest the “flood of disinformation,” says Habets.
ProSiebenSat.1 CEO Bert Habets has proposed a joint streaming network for content from public and private broadcasters in Germany. “Specifically, I mean that we will jointly establish a platform that people can trust,” he said on Wednesday at a media symposium in Berlin.
This is not an easy task. “There is already a lot of competition in the streaming market.” It is a great challenge, but at the same time a great opportunity for ProSiebenSat.1 and for the entire media industry, said Habets, who has been head of the German media group since last November. Private and public broadcasters currently have their own media libraries and platforms through which their content can be accessed – or they place offers on platforms such as YouTube, for example.
“We have the development of a streaming service ‘Made in Germany’ in our own hands”
The cornerstone for a central digital offer was laid with the complete takeover of the Joyn platform by ProSiebenSat.1, said Habets. “Now we have the development of a streaming service “Made in Germany” in our own hands. We are positioning Joyn as a freely accessible streaming provider for the entire family,” said the CEO. “Just not behind a payment barrier.”
Joint competition once morest “flood of disinformation”
It’s not regarding competition between private and public broadcasters, but regarding joint competition once morest the “flood of disinformation”. “Together we can form a reliable counterpoint,” said Habets. “And together we can stand for diversity and quality.”
ARD boss Gniffke is open to dialogue
In the discussion that followed, the ARD chairman and director of Südwestrundfunk, Kai Gniffke, was open to dialogue regarding greater cooperation between public and private broadcasters. “It’s a long way away,” he said of Habets’ proposal. “But the vision is great.”
With regard to large streaming services, the question is whether a handful of corporations with their algorithms and also with their financial strength should be allowed to dominate the entire media market in Germany. “We only have a chance if we think more in the direction of cooperation than in the direction of ‘how can we get one over the other’.”
Media Secretary Raab speaks of “great vision”
The coordinator of the German Broadcasting Commission and Rhineland-Palatinate State Secretary for Media, Heike Raab, also spoke of a “great vision”. She pointed out that different approaches are needed. For example, the private broadcasters might bundle their offers on one platform, and the public broadcasters did something else. “There are so many possibilities that we don’t want to specify on the part of politicians.” There is also the possibility of cooperation between private and public broadcasters, which is a question of negotiations. “But in the end it has to be clear: it has to be fair.”
ProSiebenSat.1 CEO Habets said he was convinced that Germany needed a strong public broadcaster that provided information and used its digital reach to reflect the diversity of society.
