Overview
- The network confirmed the upcoming season will be produced as pre-recorded episodes in Cologne rather than broadcast live, a move the broadcaster frames as common practice abroad and easier to schedule.
- Voting will shift from at-home viewers to the studio audience during the taped shows, changing who decides which masked contestants are unmasked.
- The season’s format will be faster and larger: a total of 16 masks and an accelerated elimination rhythm that sees multiple demaskings early in the run.
- ProSieben says the change helps book celebrities with tight calendars and makes production more predictable, but producers will still use confidentiality clauses and tight security to limit leaks.
- Media experts warn the change sacrifices live, real-time communal guessing for planning gains and say a residual risk of spoilers cannot be fully eliminated.