ProSiebenSat.1, the German media group controlled by the Berlusconi family’s MFE-MediaForEurope, sharply grew its earnings in the first nine months of 2026 even as revenue fell 11%, with cost cuts more than making up for a weak TV advertising market and the impact of company sales.
Revenue for January through September came to €2.24 billion ($2.48 billion), down €271 million on the same period last year. Stripping out currency swings and portfolio changes, the drop narrowed to 3%. EBITDA climbed to €198 million ($219 million) from €39 million, while EBIT turned positive at €73 million ($81 million), a €180 million improvement.
Third-quarter revenue fell 15% to €701 million ($776 million), or 4% on an organic basis. Quarterly EBITDA rose to €75 million ($83 million) from €68 million, and EBIT reached €30 million ($33 million), up from €21 million.
The third quarter showed the ad market getting tougher. When ProSiebenSat.1 reported second-quarter results on Aug. 6, organic group revenue was down 2% and Entertainment segment revenue had slipped 4% to €500 million ($554 million). Three months later, those declines had widened to 4% and 10%, respectively. In August, the company was still forecasting slight organic revenue growth for the year.
External revenue in the Entertainment segment slid 7% to €1.4 billion ($1.54 billion) over nine months, which the company put down to advertisers’ reluctance to spend, especially on TV. Streamer Joyn bucked the trend. The platform’s ad-supported revenue rose 9%, up from 8% growth at the half-year mark, and its subscription revenue jumped 20%. In April, the Joyn+ subscription tier added instant restart, offline downloads on mobile and more exclusive content. Podcast revenue posted double-digit percentage growth, and distribution revenue, which is independent of TV advertising, increased 4%. In the third quarter alone, Entertainment revenue dropped 10% to €443 million ($491 million).
The Commerce & Dating segment saw external revenue fall 16% to €849 million ($940 million), reflecting €201 million in portfolio effects that included the second-quarter sale of Studio71 US. On an organic basis, revenue was up 6%, powered by continued double-digit growth at flaconi, the group’s Beauty & Lifestyle business. The Dating & Video business struggled with cautious consumers and fierce competition worldwide, and Video Social Dating revenue in particular came in well below last year. Third-quarter segment revenue fell 22% to €257 million ($285 million), though it grew 8% organically, an improvement on the 3% organic rise posted in the second quarter.
Nearly all of the profit gain came from the Entertainment segment, where nine-month EBITDA rose to €174 million ($193 million) from €46 million. Commerce & Dating swung to EBITDA of €23 million ($25 million) from a loss of €7 million. In the third quarter, Entertainment EBITDA reached €59 million ($65 million), up from €55 million, while Commerce & Dating rose to €16 million ($18 million) from €12 million.
Programming costs were a key lever. They dropped €126 million to €588 million ($651 million) for the nine months, mainly due to a change in amortization policy announced in the first half. The company also pointed to its efforts to wring more value from content across platforms around marquee sports, including the FIFA World Cup and the Winter Olympics. Savings from last year’s restructuring program fed into the earnings gain as well.
Net financial debt stood at €1.54 billion ($1.71 billion) on Sept. 30, up from €1.34 billion ($1.49 billion) at the end of 2025. The company attributed the rise to the usual seasonal cash flow pattern and to severance payments tied to reorganizations in the first half. Its leverage ratio was 3.4x.
On Oct. 29, ProSiebenSat.1 cut its forecast for organic group revenue, saying it now expects a slight decline for the year rather than slight growth, as the economy and consumer spending fell short of what economic institutes had predicted. All other targets held. The group still forecasts a substantial EBITDA increase on 2025’s €241 million ($267 million), a moderate fall in group revenue from €3.68 billion ($4.07 billion), stable net financial debt and a leverage ratio of 3.0x to 3.5x at year-end.
MFE, which runs Mediaset’s TV operations in Italy and Spain, took a 75.61% stake in ProSiebenSat.1 last year through a takeover offer that valued the German group at about €1.8 billion ($2 billion). The company is led by Group CEO Marco Giordani.
Because its lucrative TV ad business rises and falls with the economy and household spending, ProSiebenSat.1 is relying on tight costs and careful cash management to absorb the softer revenue picture.
