Observed Signal · Apr 27, 2026 · Hiring · Source: DWDL · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Luca Poloni Named COO of ProSiebenSat.1
ProSiebenSat.1 appointed Luca Poloni (56) as Chief Operating Officer, effective May 1, 2026, on a three‑year term. Poloni joins from majority shareholder MFE (MediaForEurope), where he most recently served as Group CTO responsible for IT, digital and broadcast engineering. The supervisory board chair Maria Kyriacou and CEO Marco Giordani framed the hire as part of a broader push to accelerate the broadcaster’s transformation into a technology- and AI-focused company and to strengthen digital and ad‑monetisation capabilities. The appointment follows MFE’s majority takeover of ProSiebenSat.1 in autumn 2025 and ongoing divestments of non-core assets. MFE CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi previously signalled plans to invest in technology, innovation and content production to support both MFE and ProSiebenSat.1.
Leadership appointment at a major German broadcaster expanding its executive team with a tech/AI remit could affect ProSiebenSat.1's digital transformation and ad‑monetisation strategy, but it is not an industry‑shifting change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Luca Poloni was appointed COO of ProSiebenSat.1 effective May 1, 2026, for a three-year term.
- Poloni joins from majority shareholder MFE (MediaForEurope), where he served as Group CTO responsible for IT, digital and broadcast technology.
- The hire is presented as part of ProSiebenSat.1’s strategic shift toward technology, innovation and AI to support transformation and ad monetisation.
- The appointment follows MFE’s majority takeover of ProSiebenSat.1 in autumn 2025 and ongoing sales of non-core assets.
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One year after MFE takeover: What changed at ProSiebenSat.1?
One year after Media for Europe (MFE) secured a majority stake of more than 75 percent in ProSiebenSat.1, DWDL reviews the changes at the German broadcaster. MFE replaced the entire executive board in October 2025, installing Marco Giordani as CEO and later Luca Poloni as COO. The new leadership ended the station-chief model in favor of a genre-based matrix, restructured the company into Entertainment and Commerce & Dating segments, and divested assets including Billiger-mietwagen.de, Studio71 US and wetter.com. Strategically, ProSiebenSat.1 now prioritizes linear channels over its Joyn streaming platform and plans to launch a new linear channel, Sat.2. Joyn remains important but lags behind rivals such as RTL+ and public broadcasters. MFE and ProSiebenSat.1 are working toward €150 million in annual synergies, including a planned technical merger of Joyn and Infinity by 2027.
ProSiebenSat.1 CEO Giordani Proposes New News Direction
ProSiebenSat.1 CEO Marco Giordani said in a preview of a TV appearance that news coverage should be more interpretive — with stronger context, commentary and interpretation — arguing that artificial intelligence will influence news more than other content. His remarks provoked discussion because they appear to conflict with the prior, explicitly neutral positioning of the group’s Newstime news brand. ProSiebenSat.1 later clarified that no immediate changes are planned for Newstime and reaffirmed that editorial responsibility rests with Newstime editor-in-chief Sven Pietsch. Giordani defended the company’s takeover by Italy’s MediaForEurope (MFE), framed European consolidation as a response to global platform dominance, and said the group will pursue changes mainly in technology, data and advertising while keeping local content and editorial independence. The story was published by MEEDIA on 2026-06-23.
Breitenecker Appointed Group CEO of DEAG
Markus Breitenecker, former COO of ProSiebenSat.1, will become Group CEO of Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) on November 1, 2026. He joins the live entertainment company and will also acquire a stake. Breitenecker will drive DEAG's pan-European expansion, develop new business areas and formats, enter new markets, and oversee the technological advancement of its ticketing platform. He brings over three decades of media and entertainment experience, having previously built Puls 4 in Austria and led streaming, distribution, technology, digitalization, marketing, media policy, and AI at ProSiebenSat.1.
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