ProsiebenSat1 Media Group, one of Europe’s largest TV networks, has quietly launched a daily deal site with the cumbersome name prosiebenproducts.de. The application is a simple and straight forward clone of the now well-known and exhausted Groupon concept, where collective buying efforts lead to great deals on a daily basis.
Yet this approach seems somewhat desperate and, to be honest, late. The Groupon model has showed some serious flaws lately and aside from CityDeal’s exit, which Groupon financed through its latest funding round, the hype seems to have abated.
It is obvious that such large TV Networks have moved beyond their core product of television and have entered several markets to sustain a healthy mix of media assets. Not only because of so-called “media convergence” but naturally because they see ad revenues moving online. But a Groupon-clone? One would expect or at least hope for more significant and innovative digital outlets from a media behemoth like ProsiebenSat1 Group. The TV network operates several other online properties, such as myvideo.de and wer-weiss-was.de.
ProSiebenSat1 also operates the venture fund “Seven Brand Ventures” that offers advertising space in exchange for equity. For certain startups this model is viable and by giving away a substantial chunk of your company you’ll be rewarded with a massive media outreach from TV to radio and web.