»Für Café Puls zu arbeiten, ist für mich eine tolle Weiterentwicklung.«

PULS 4 is the most-watched purely Austrian private station with the highest market share in all relevant target groups and thus an important component of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s free TV portfolio. With the hit show "Café Puls", PULS 4 has been broadcasting Austria's first breakfast TV show for over twelve years – in the current year, the program reaches around 540,000 viewers a week. The new spin-off show “Café Puls – Das Magazin” has been expanding the popular PULS 4 brand since March 2018 and accompanies viewers after work. Max Mayerhofer, editor at ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 since 2015, presents the new show. In this interview, he talks about his career from intern to presenter and explains the importance of regional content for the audience.

Max, you ended up in the TV industry after your law degree and after an internship in the PULS 4 editorial team, you now present “Café Puls – Das Magazin”. How did this career change happen?

I wanted to work on TV from being a teenager. However, my sister then said: “Make something of yourself.” So I studied law. After having a taste of the industry at a smaller Austrian regional station and at ORF, I switched to ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 in 2015 – first as an intern. Now I work at "Café Puls - Das Magazin" both as an editor and as a presenter – an exciting combination and, above all else, a great development.

How did you succeed in getting promoted from intern to reporter and presenter?

As an intern at PULS 4, my colleagues made a big effort to get me involved. I quickly got the opportunity to try it out and was even able to make a live show. PULS 4 really does offer a great work environment: It's okay if something does not work out as planned – but of course I've always looked to learn from mistakes and develop further personally with the support of my supervisors. After my internship, I joined ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 as an editor. With the new show “Café Puls – Das Magazin”, I now have the opportunity to prove myself again as a presenter on Austrian early evening television. In particular, my colleagues in the editorial team, but also the broadcaster and the whole group were a very important support for me on this journey.

»Working as an editor and presenter for “Café Puls – Das Magazin” is a great personal development for me.«

Along with Barbara Fleißner, Max Mayerhofer accompanies viewers after work.

As a presenter and editor, you reach tens of thousands of viewers a day. What are the biggest challenges and how do you master them?

As we are active in a very competitive program environment with early evening television, in which the viewer changes channel quickly if they do not like the presenter or the program, it is particularly important for me to appeal to our viewers with the first few words, to capture them and to get them excited about our programs. We also set clear editorial priorities to distinguish ourselves from other competing formats. For example, we orient our magazine regionally and address topics in an Austrian context: By including Austrian guests and experts in the programs, we create a format both about and for Austrians. For me personally, it is also important that we are not only diverse in editorial terms, but also me as a presenter. That means I have to be convincing with fresh ideas every time and make stories more exciting than others.

»We have further developed a strong and established brand with “Café Puls – Das Magazin”.«

With “Café Puls – Das Magazin”, along with Barbara Fleißner, you accompany viewers after work. How is the show received by the audience?

The response is huge – and almost entirely positive. With “Café Puls – Das Magazin”, we have further developed the strong already established “Café Puls” brand in a logical way. You feel that viewers want a fresh, young show on early evening television. With a market share of up to 7% in the 12- to 49-year-olds target group, we made a strong start at the beginning of the year. And the dialog with our viewers confirms that we have created an attractive, and above all Austrian, early evening TV program that appeals especially to young viewers.