Sat.1 Revamps Lineup With 'Deal or No Deal' as ProSiebenSat.1 Reshapes Channels

German broadcasting group ProSiebenSat.1 is overhauling its linear television programming, starting with a restructured early-evening block on Sat.1 on Monday, December 14, followed by a sweeping realignment across its television networks ahead of 2027. The media group announced on Thursday that 61-year-old television presenter Jörg Pilawa will anchor the refreshed early-evening schedule, hosting a brand-new edition of the game show "Deal or No Deal," in which contestants can win cash prizes of up to 100,000 euros.

Under the new schedule, the courtroom broadcast "Richter Alexander Hold" will lead off the evening at 6:00 p.m., leading into Pilawa's 7:00 p.m. broadcast of "Deal or No Deal," followed by the daily news program "Sat.1 :newstime" at 7:55 p.m. The future of the network's daily drama offerings, including "Die Landarztpraxis" and its spin-off "Die Landarztpraxis - Team Sonnenhof," has not yet been determined following the schedule changes, though the network stated it will announce upcoming broadcast plans in due course.

The upcoming evening adjustments serve as the prelude to an extensive structural overhaul planned for 2027 across Sat.1, ProSieben, Kabel Eins, and the streaming platform Joyn. Under the new programming blueprint, Sat.1 will dedicate each weekday primetime block to a specific programming category. Mondays will feature reality formats and German scripted fiction, with series such as "Kommissar Rex" and "Der letzte Bulle" scheduled for the latter half of the year. Wednesdays will focus on cooking and baking competitions, Thursdays on quiz formats, and weekends on broad family programming.

As part of this realignment, prominent singing competitions "The Voice of Germany" and "The Voice Kids" will air exclusively on Sat.1 starting in 2027, anchoring family-oriented weekend schedules. Additionally, beginning in March 2027, Tuesday nights on Sat.1 will become a hub for documentary and investigative programming. This shift brings reporter Jenke von Wilmsdorff over from ProSieben, joining consumer investigative formats like "Achtung Abzocke" hosted by Peter Giesel and regular consumer examination specials.

Viewers accustomed to watching American scripted series on Sat.1 on Tuesday evenings will see those broadcasts shift elsewhere. Primetime broadcast premieres for American dramas, including "NCIS" and its prequel series "NCIS: Origins," are relocating entirely to sister channel Kabel Eins. ProSieben is also transferring first-run broadcast rights for major American comedy programs, including new episodes of "The Simpsons," "Ted," and "Georgie & Mandy," to Monday primetime on Kabel Eins, though ProSieben will retain rights to earlier evening reruns of "The Simpsons."

ProSiebenSat.1 content chief Henrik Pabst stated to industry publication DWDL that the strategy is intended to give each individual network a clear, distinct identity instead of offering overlapping content. Arne Neumann, Executive Vice President of Content Strategy and Windowing, emphasized that Kabel Eins will serve as the primary destination for American television series and classic films. ProSieben will conversely concentrate heavily on major entertainment shows, Hollywood movies, and major live sporting broadcasts, including five world championship tournaments scheduled for 2027 ranging from men's handball in January to the world darts championship in December.

Alongside the television channel adjustments, the media group is investing heavily in its digital presence on the streaming platform Joyn. ProSiebenSat.1 plans to debut more than 20 original productions centered on digital creators. The company is also implementing structural platform enhancements for the service, including individual viewer profiles and enhanced algorithmic content recommendations designed to improve user engagement.

In tandem with the schedule shifts, ProSiebenSat.1 announced it will officially discontinue its teletext services across seven linear channels in early 2027, affecting Sat.1, ProSieben, Kabel Eins, Sixx, Sat.1 Gold, ProSieben Maxx, and Kabel Eins Doku. Network officials explained that viewer reliance on teletext has dropped close to zero as audiences migrated to Joyn for broadcast schedules and news. Closed captioning will remain fully accessible, but technical access will transition entirely to modern built-in television and receiver accessibility menus.