Maria Kyriacou to stand for election to German media giant’s supervisory board 

ProSiebenSat1_Maria-Kyriacou

Maria Kyriacou

Former ITV Studios and Paramount Group exec Maria Kyriacou looks set to become chairwoman of German giant ProSiebenSat.1.

Kyriacou, who stepped down as president of international markets at Paramount last year, is the German broadcaster’s proposed chair to be decided at its AGM on 28 May.

If elected to the board as chair, Kyriacou will Andreas Wiele, who previously confirmed that he would not be seeking re-election. Katrin Burkhardt and Simone Scettri are also up for re-election to the German company’s board.

ProSiebenSat.1’s board said its nomination of Kyriacou reflects the company’s “commitment to strengthening its entertainment business and leveraging global media expertise to drive growth.”

The German broadcast giant has faced turbulence over recent years amidst an ailing local advertising market and saw its shares fall more by more than 10% in the wake of the Berlusconi family-run MediaForEurope confirming it would be making an offer to take over the broadcaster last week.

MFE has been in an ongoing battle to take ownership of ProSiebenSat.1 for more than five years, looking to create an operation based out of Italy, Spain and Germany that can compete with streamers.

For Kyriacou, the role would mark a return to the TV and streaming business, where she has held senior roles at companies including ITV Studios, Disney and Paramount. She stepped down at the latter in early 2024 having been president of broadcast and studios for Paramount International Markets.

Kyriacou currently serves as a non-executive director at UK-based events firm Informa and has previously held board positions at Wizz Air and FAT Face Group.

Wiele, outgoing chair of the supervisory board at ProSiebenSat.1 Media, said: “[Kyriacou’s] extensive experience and proven leadership in the global media industry make her ideally suited to help guide the successful transformation that ProSiebenSat.1 has begun in the last years.”

Kyriacou added: “It is an honour to be nominated for the supervisory board of ProSiebenSat.1. The company has an impressive legacy in the entertainment industry, and I look forward to working with the board and management team to drive innovation, growth, and value creation for all stakeholders.”