Stakeholder Engagement

In order to increase public acceptance of our business operations, we also assess our activities with regard to their sustainability. A fundamental aspect of this is understanding the demands that different stakeholders have of the Company, taking them into account in our decisions, and communicating these decisions transparently. Exchanging information helps us understand even better what society expects of us and which measures we need to take to establish and maintain trust. When selecting our stakeholders, we also take account of their topic-specific expertise and willingness to engage in constructive dialog. In the following, we describe selected stakeholder dialogs held by ProSiebenSat.1 Group: [GRI 102-42, GRI 102-43, GRI 102-44]

Key stakeholders of ProSiebenSat.1 [GRI 102-40]

• Capital market: In numerous roadshows and conferences, we inform investors and analysts about ProSiebenSat.1’s business development and company outlook and respond to questions from the capital market relating to ESG topics (Environment, Social, Governance). We maintain regular dialog with our shareholders and are available to answer questions at the Annual General Meeting. At present, we are particularly observing increasing requirements for the disclosure of the Company’s sustainability information, governance issues, and diversity concepts. In particular, the number of rating agencies and research institutes that assess our sustainability performance with regard to economic, social, and environmental aspects rose significantly in the year under review. In the context of rating processes, we engage in continuous dialog with the relevant providers to ensure that all material information is taken into account in the sustainability evaluation of our Company.

• Employees: Part of ProSiebenSat.1’s philosophy as an employer is to create personnel-related conditions that support our employees with their professional challenges and take account of their individual interests. In 2017, ProSiebenSat.1 used a new tool for employee surveys with “Pulse Check”, which aimed to record the current mood within the Group, gather ideas for improvements, and quickly implement these in specific projects. Employees and Diversity
• Viewers and users: TV viewers and users of our digital entertainment and commerce platforms are among the most important stakeholders. Direct interaction with them is therefore extremely important for ProSiebenSat.1. The Group operates 46 Facebook pages and twelve Twitter accounts in relation to its TV brands, each with more than 20,000 followers. In addition, viewers can e-mail their questions about program content, general suggestions or criticisms to the central Audience Relations Department. In 2017, the department processed around 92,000 queries (previous year: around 95,000). [GRI M6]
• Politics, public authorities, and associations: As a listed corporation and one of the biggest European media companies, ProSiebenSat.1 is a particular focus of public attention. The Governmental Relations & Regulatory Affairs Department is the contact for external stakeholders from the fields of politics and regulation. In national and international dialog with representatives of governments, parliaments, and public authorities, we contribute our politically independent positions to the discussion either directly or via our membership of various associations and organizations. In 2017, ProSiebenSat.1 initiated a public debate on the future viability of the dual broadcasting system with our model “Media Regulation 4.0.” Our top priority here is to reorder the financing for socially relevant, opinion-making, and inclusive formats. Media Law, Story “Parliamentary Elections”