Prominent leaders of European Media Alliance (EMA) companies have agreed to co-operate around streaming, technology and monetisation in a bid to address today’s changing media landscape.
The CEOs of ProSiebenSat.1 Media (Germany, Switzerland, Austria), Mediaset (Italy), Channel 4 (UK), Antenna Group (Southeastern Europe), Impresa Group (Portugal) and TVN Discovery Poland (Poland) met at the 4Gamechangers Festival in Vienna last week to reinforce their commitment to work together on these “strategic core areas”.
According to a statement released by ProSiebenSat.1 Media, the EMA will act as a common platform for joint initiatives in video streaming, technology and monetisation – with “scale and transformational impact” to be key criteria in prioritising the joint initiatives.
The group, which also counts TF1 (France), Mediaset Espana (Spain), MTG and Nordic Entertainment Group (Nordics), Blue TV (Turkey), CME (Central and Eastern Europe), Medialaan (Belgium) and Impresa Group (Portugal) among its members, said it is united in its vision to actively shape the European media industry.
“We all fundamentally believe that by international cooperation, we will obtain a competitive edge in our local markets,” said ProSiebenSat.1 Media CEO Max Conze. “That is why we are now sending a strong signal of unity in addressing the most pressing issues our industry is facing.”
Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon described the joint initiatives of the European Media Alliance as “fundamental to Channel 4” in an increasingly fragmented media landscape, while Impresa Group CEO Francisco Pedro Balsemão said that “scale and technology will clearly give us a competitive advantage that will also help us battle giants that have created unfair monopolies.”
Antenna Group chairman, Theodore Kyriakou, said: “Through this alliance we all have a unique opportunity to innovate and scale existing offerings for more than half a billion viewers and users across the continent.”
TVN Discovery Poland CEO, Piotr Korycki, added: “As media companies, we are experienced entertainers and news broadcasters. Our current challenge and a great opportunity is how to continue doing this, as well as capturing the attention in the world where technology, language and national borders create no barriers anymore.”
The European Media Alliance claims to cover more than 200 million households, reaching 550 million inhabitants.
