Prosieben creates global content unit

ProSiebenSat.1 Group, the German broadcasting outfit, is to centralise its format and drama production following the merger with SBS Broadcasting. It has set up a group content production unit, headed up by Gabor Kereszty, former managing director of SBS’ TV2 Hungary and will produce formats in different languages from its Hungarian base.

The new unit is preparing a list of formats that it intends to produce across the stations. French gameshow Fort Boyard, in which contestants must complete physical and mental challenges, is likely to be the first format commissioned. Kereszty says that it wants to create shows that work in Germany, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. “Live entertainment has to be localized and cannot be exported but scripted and some non-scripted concepts will certainly be [developed] at group level,” he said.

The ProSieben and SBS deal has also had an “immediate impact” on programme sales activity, says SevenOne International boss Jens Richter. SevenOne will be shopping a range of SBS shows at MIPCOM including TV2 Hungary’s For Better or Worse and seasonal Scandi format Santa’s in the Barn. “No-one was distributing these before,” Richter says. “These are market premieres for shows with proven track records.”