Landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
- beginnings
- film production and libraries (1969)
- television (1984)
- buys Formula 1 rights (2001)
- collapse (2002)
- Saban (2003)
Context is provided by the broader communications and media timeline on this site.
Beginnings
1926 Leo Kirch born in Würzburg, later gains doctorate in business administration and becomes assistant professor in economics at Munich University
1959 Leo Kirch establishes Beta Film as German distributor for US feature films
1960 Kirch buys rights to package of Buster Keaton feature films from the actor
1963 TaurusFilm established, later becomes largest producer of film and television content for German-speaking market
1964 Kirch and Herbert von Karajan form Cosmotel classical music film production company
1968 Kirch forms IdunaFilm (now TaurusProduktion) production company for feature films and TV movies
1968 Verlagsunion founded as a magazine sales joint venture by Bauer (51%) and Kauka Verlag (49%)
Film production and libraries
1969 Kirch buys German rights to 1,000 film titles in Howard Hughes/RKO Library (inc Citizen Kane)
1970 Kirch buys Kauka interests in Verlagsunion
1971 Kirch buys Hal Roach Library - over 1,200 classic films
1975 TaurusMediaTechnik established
1975 Haim Saban moves to Paris after activity as a concert promoter in Israel
1983 Kirch forms TaurusVideo productions, with most rights subsequently licenced to ailing KinoWelt group
Television
1984 launches Swiss pay-TV channel Teleclub
1984 buys 10% stake in Axel Springer
1984 launches PKS, forerunner of SAT.1
1988 buys a stake in the German commercial channel SAT.1
1988 pay-tv channel Teleclub goes on air in Germany, subsequently absorbed by Premiere
1989 Kirch buys Deutscher Bücherbund, the dominant German book club, from Holtzbrinck for DM250m
1989 ProSieben tv channel launched
1989 Bauer buys Erich Pabel-Arthur Moewig Semrau KG
1989 EM.TV founded
1989 Saban sells 25% of licensing business to RTL for US $15m
1990 Filmproduktion Janus and Scorpio Film formed by Kirch to produce game shows, telemovies and documentaries.
1990 Premiere pay-tv channel established by Kirch (25%), Bertelsmann and Vivendi's Canal Plus
1991 Internationale Sportrechte-Verwertungsgesellschaft (ISPR) founded in partnership with Axel Springer
1991 buys 8% of Italian pay-tv channel Telepiù (by 1997 owns 45%)
1992 buys former DEFA Studios in East Berlin
1992 buys majority share in Neue Deutsche Filmgesellschaft (ndF) (later increased to 90%)
1992 buys 24.5% stake in German commercial station Tele 5
1993 Tele 5 renamed DSF and becomes Germany's first commercial channel devoted solely to sport
1993 buys 25% stake in Telecinco, Spain
1994 buys stake in Radio Arabella, Munich (sold 1998)
1994 opposition by European Commission's cartel office kills Media Service GmbH (MSG) digital TV joint venture of Bertelsmann, Kirch Group and Deutsche Telekom
1995 Kirch takes 15% stake in Berlusconi's Mediaset
1995 joint venture between Saban Entertainment and Fox Kids TV. Saban buys back RTL stake for US$40m
1996 Kirch launched DF1 digital satellite program package with 32 digital channels
1997 Saban and Fox buy televangelist Pat Robertson's Family Channel cable tv network for US$1.9bn
1997 Kirch moves to majority interest in SAT.1 (59% from 44%)
1997 EM.TV lists on Neuer Markt
1998 Kirch establishes JUNIOR.TV
1999 increases holding in Prisma Sports & Media AG to 85% and television station Hamburg 1 to 59.6%
1999 News-controlled BSkyB takes stake in Kirch, which sells stake in BSkyB
1999 Mediaset buys 2.48% stake in Kirch
1999 KirchMedia established as holding group
1999 TaurusLizenz and TaurusSport established
1999 EM.TV buys 50% stake in Yoram Gross Film Studios from Village Roadshow
1999 Epsilon MediaGroup established as 50% partnership with Berlusconi's Mediaset
2000 MediaGruppe München and Media 1 merge to form SevenOne Media
2000 EM.TV pays US$680 million for The Jim Henson Company
2001 merger of Kirch Media and subsidiary ProSiebenSat announced
Buys Formula 1 rights
2001 Kirch buys 51% stake in Formula 1 rights holder SLEC Holdings for US$1.54 billion
2001 News takes 2.48% stake in Kirch
2001 Kirch buys Axel Springer's share in Sport1, taking equity to 76.5%
2001 Saban prompts sale of Fox Family Worldwide to Disney for US$5.3bn
2001 Bauer buys Polish magazine Twój Styl for US$14.5m
2001 Dresdner Bank demands repayment of U$400m loan, subsequently extended
2001 KirchMedia CEO Dieter Hahn tells Reuters that group's debt is up to US$5.5bn
Collapse
2002 Axel Springer demands €767m from Kirch, announcing intention to exercise put option to sell its 11.5% stake in ProSiebenSat.1
2002 Deutsche Bank CEO Rolf Breuer expresses doubts about group's creditworthiness
2002 Kirch abandons plans to merge KirchMedia with ProSieben
2002 banks put Kirch into receivership
2002 individual Kirch units declare bankruptcy, banks begin dismantling group
2002 News writes off US$1bn in ProSiebenSat
2002 'in principle' agreed takeover by Bauer of core Kirch units
2003 takeover by Bauer does not proceed
2003 consortium led by retailer Karstadt-Quelle buys Kirch's DSF sports tv station
2003 EM.TV sells Henson back to Henson family for US$89m
Saban
2003 announcement of 'in principle' agreed takeover of ProSiebenSat assets (for £915m), other Kirch networks and film library by Saban Group
2005 Axel Springer announces acquisition of Saban's stake in ProSiebenSat for around €2.5bn (Saban's P7S1 Holding gains 2.4% stake in Springer)
2006 Axel Springer deal abandoned after refusal by regulators
2006 KKR and Permira agree to buy ProSiebenSat.1 for US$7.6bn