Mfe: new strategy launched, single European digital platform to be introduced in January -2-

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Mfe is a bold venture that no one has ever undertaken before. It is a large conglomerate of European companies built around free-to-air general-interest television. ‘No one apart from us had ever thought of it,’ emphasises Berlusconi, adding that ‘Italian television is the benchmark thanks to Rai and the fact that, over the years, there has been a broadcaster that has never given up and has made – and continues to make – the difference’. By contrast, “other European broadcasters are just scraping by and continue to divest”. 2025 was “a decisive year”, says the CEO, recalling that this time last year, the group was “halfway through the process” with the takeover bid for Prosieben, which concluded in September with the acquisition of over 75 per cent of the Bavarian media group.

As regards the new strategy, at the heart of it all are ‘integration and synergies’, as we must bear in mind that we are ‘three entities plus three more’. Therefore, “we must build a single, stronger entity that is fully integrated and organic”. We also need a “new editorial drive for the new television”, which means that “it takes courage”, as well as the “creation of truly cross-media content”, explains Berlusconi. On digital, “we face an ocean of opportunities but also of risks”, emphasises the CEO, who warns: “We must not copy the web giants; we are not an international fast-food chain. We produce live programmes, tailored to individual countries, and we must have increasingly sophisticated products ready to run across all platforms’. As for the European digital platform, ‘we want to create a new premium standard to offer users and advertising investors, setting ourselves apart from the web giants: we want to provide different and verified information’.

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