UNTERFÖHRING (dpa-AFX) - ProSiebenSat.1 is strengthening its own information offerings. The editor-in-chief of the Seven.One Entertainment Group, which is part of the listed media group, Sven Pietsch, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur: "We'll be producing and broadcasting news from our own newsroom starting Jan. 1."

In perspective, the broadcasts of the ProSieben, Sat.1 and Kabel eins channels are to be produced in a large studio, which is currently being built at the media group's main location in Unterföhring near Munich.

There will be no one-size-fits-all newscasts for all three stations; offerings will be tailored individually to each station's audience. "We also want to become more local, closer to the people," Pietsch said. The digital presence is to be significantly expanded at the same time.

Until now, ProSiebenSat.1 had its newscasts produced externally by Welt, a TV station belonging to the Axel Springer media company. The contract is expiring. This is a remarkable move by the private TV group in Unterföhring. Competitor RTL has also strengthened its news offerings in the past. Both companies hired well-known news presenters from public broadcasters. The image of the private stations, which for decades has been strongly characterized by entertainment shows, should thus also become more diversified.

Both media companies placed an emphasis on offerings with so-called public value - in other words, with added social value. The German states, which are responsible for media policy, had given more importance to this area in a state treaty. Such offerings must be easy to find on smart TV home pages, for example.

When viewers tune in to news on ProSieben, Sat.1 or Kabel eins at the beginning of January, the change won't be very noticeable at first. Editor-in-chief Pietsch said in an interview with dpa, "On January 1, viewers won't see a big change because the visual design and appearance of the shows won't change yet. However, three new female presenters will be added." Among them is journalist Claudia von Brauchitsch, who already works for the Group.

Pietsch went on to announce, "A completely new look for all news shows and formats under a single brand will follow in May 2023." ProSiebenSat.1 did not yet disclose the name of the brand.

"We will significantly expand our digital presence. The digital colleagues are working hand in hand with the TV editorial team. In the medium term, it's conceivable that we'll further strengthen our information offerings from the newsroom." A separate news channel is not planned at the moment, he said.

The media group did not provide detailed information on the costs for its own news division. Pietsch said, "Compared to our previous news production, this is not a savings model. We see this as a long-term investment."

He added on strategy, "A long time ago, we decided with the board that we wanted to take on more social responsibility because the world is in very uncertain times." At the same time, he said, there was a strategic consideration that in the age of streaming services, there was an increasing reliance on offering local content itself. This would include sports, events and information programs.

ProSiebenSat.1, which has recently been in the media spotlight again because of its largest shareholder - the Italian media group MFE around Silvio Berlusconi's family - also increased its news staff. "For our new newsroom, we hired more than 60 people at our Unterföhring and Berlin offices. Our politics editorial team works in the new capital city office," the editor-in-chief explained. From the beginning of the year, there will also be a correspondent's office in Washington in the USA. In addition, the company is working with freelancers around the world./rin/DP/jha