Sport1 Medien AG (previously known as EM.TV & Merchandising AG, EM.Sport Media AG and Constantin Medien AG) is a German international media company that has a strong focus on the sports and entertainment sectors. It's based in Ismaning near Munich and it operates a multi-channel sports platform in German-speaking countries, including free and pay-TV, online services, social media, and digital radio under the SPORT1 brand, and also offers content solutions, event organizing, and marketing services for sports and entertainment. The company formerly owned its kids & family entertainment division including its children TV channel Junior TV and its Australian production studio Flying Bark Productions until 2008 & its the former owner of American entertainment company The Jim Henson Company before selling it in 2003.
History Beginnings and major acquisition success 1989 - EM.TV was founded by Thomas Haffa. The name "EM.TV" stands for "Entertainment, Merchandising, TV." 1996 - The company created Junior, a company and TV channel that held licenses to most of the animated TV shows in the library of the KirchGruppe, the Media Group of Leo Kirch, where Thomas Haffa started his career. In 1997, EM.TV went public and started to expand in various businesses.
In late-July 1996, EM.TV & Merchandising had joined forced with KirchGroup to jointly establish a new dedicated pay-TV children's channel entitled Junior.TV, prior to that KirchGroup used the Junior brand for distributing KirchGroup's programming catalouge including the library of the Japanese anime studio Zuiyo & its programming originally distributed by Kirch's now-independent subsidiary-turned production company Beta Film GmBh & KirchGroup's defunct in-house German distribution unit TaurusFilm, such as Maya the Honey Bee and Heidi, Girl of the Alps, when it was first used starting in 1994. However two years later in December 1998, EM.TV & Merchandising signed a 50/50 landmark deal with KirchGroup to bring the Junior brand under a new joint-venture production/distribution subsidiary entitled Junior as EM.TV & Merchandising had brought a 50% stake in the latter's programming catalouge alongside the library of the Japanese anime studio Zuiyo Enterprise placing it under the new joint-venture production/distribution subsidiary Junior.
In October 1997, EM.TV & Merchandising announced a production partnership with Australian animation studio Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow the producer of Blinky Bill to co-produce 10 of the Australian animation studio's animated series with EM.TV handling distribution and merchandising the 10 animated projects outside of Australia. Their successful partnership with them lead to EM.TV acquiring a 50% stake in the Australian animation studio Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow from both Australian company Village Roadshow (when they exited the television production) two years later in March 1999 renaming it to Yoram Gross EM.TV as their own Australian animation studio with its founders Yoram and Sandra Gross retaining their 50% stake in the rebranded animation studio.
By 1998, EM.TV & Merchandising formed a partnership with Israeli entertainment production company Talit Communications to bring EM.TV's kids & family programming catalouge and eventually formalized a major pact to sell and market cartoon merchandising and television broadcasting rights in Israel. It became a massive success as it led to EM.TV & Merchandising acquiring a 50% stake in Talit Communications in December 1999, further increasing EM.TV's Junior programming library with the two companies planning to launch a dedicated pay-TV channel in Israel under the Junior.TV name.
By late-April 1999 during the MIPTV market in Cannes, EM.TV announced that they were in final negotiations to export its newly packaged Junior brand globally & planning to launch the Junior brand worldwide under its banner Junior.TV.; The expansion of the Junior brand happened five months later in September of that year, when EM.TV & Merchandising signed a deal with Swiss broadcasting television network SF DRS in Switzerland to broadcast EM.TV's Junior programming library on SF DRS's television channel TV3
Near the end of June 1999, EM.TV & Merchandising, who already have its joint-venture TV channel with KirchGroup for Junior, had increased the Junior brand outside of pay television by signing a deal with free-to-air TV channel Sat.1 to bring its Junior.TV programming for the free-to-air TV channel under the Junior brand whilst EM.TV plans to launch its own kids & family website under the Junior brand.
In August 1999, EM.TV & Merchandising announced that they have taken a 25% stake in German independent film production company Constantin Film including the latter's 51% stake in Olga Film, marking their entry into the feature film business and increasing their family entertainment business.
In September 1999, EM.TV & Merchandising further expanded the Junior brand as they entered a joint venture with Danish magazine publishing company Egmont to launch a publishing subsidiary that could bring EM.TV's productions under one roof named Junior.Publishing. One week later in that same month of the same year, EM.TV announced that they have acquired a 49% stake in German production and distribution company Tele München Gruppe (TMG) in order for the former to expand their children's entertainment library and its feature film activities; However when EM.TV enterted a massive restructure following severe financial troubles and a massive debt restructuring process in 2001, EM.TV announced in February of that year that they were planning to sell its 49% stake in German film & television production/distribution company Tele München Gruppe (TMG) Three years later in December 2004, EM.TV had completed its diversture of Tele München Gruppe back to its president Herbert Kloiber.
In December 1999, EM.TV & Merchandising had entered a five-year co-production & co-financing partnership with German media fund and production-financing company Victory Media Management to produce animated films & television series with funding up to 100 animated children's television series over five years. The deal was later expanded a year later in October 2000, to include the co-financing of EM.TV's new internet platform Junior-Web. But however a year later in March 2001 when EM.TV was rescued by KirchGroup in that same year, EM.TV & Merchandising and Victory Media had ended their five-year co-production agreement.
2000 - When EM.TV's market capitalization was about €10 billion, the company acquired the Jim Henson Company and 50% of SLEC Ltd., the holding company of the famous Formula One racing series. Because of an option to purchase another 25% of SLEC Ltd. from Bernie Ecclestone for 1 Billion EUR, EM.TV had problems funding the transaction via the capital markets. Between late 2000, when the company reported incorrect quarterly results, and 2002, EM.TV's stock fell from its price of €120 EUR to penny stock status.
In February 2000, EM.TV enterted the American entertainment production industry by acquiring American entertainment company behind The Muppets, The Jim Henson Company, for $680 million. The acquisition had gained EM.TV its own American entertainment production subsidiary and further extending EM.TV's kids & family production operation as The Jim Henson Company became EM.TV own American production unit with EM.TV would handle distribution to future programming produced by the acquired American entertainment outfit The Jim Henson Company while president of The Jim Henson Company, Brian Henson, would remained chairman and gave up & handled the role of CEO to its president & CCO Charlie Rivkin.
In March 2000, EM.TV & Merchandising had purchased the company behind the famous Formula One worldwide racing competition series, Speed Promotions LTD., from Bernie Eccelstone alongside a multi-billion dollar acquisition of a 50% stake in its unit SLEC Holdings, the company that managed the television rights for Formula One. A year later near the end of February 2001, EM.TV & its new parent KirchGroup had jointly brought a 75% stake in Speed Promotions LTD's holding company & susbidiary, SLEC, the holding company for Formula One's commercial rights and in return EM.TV had gained full control of the broadcasting rights to Formula One and it continued to be broadcast free-to-air.
One month later in April of that year during the MIP-TV event, EM.TV & Merchandising expanded the Junior brand by announcing a joint venture production subsidiary with Spanish film & television production/distribution subsidiary of Spanish publishing company Grupo Planeta, Planeta 2010 (now DeAPlaneta), to handle distribution of EM.TV's children's programming including those from the former's Australian & American subsidiairies Yoram Gross-EM.TV and The Jim Henson Company in Spain and Portugal with EM.TV and Planeta forming a Madrid-based Spanish joint-venture home entertainment & distribution/production subsidiary entitled Planeta Junior, marking EM.TV's entry into the Spanish film & TV production industry. Their partnership would be extended one year later in March 2001, when EM.TV formed an animation co-production partnership with Spanish film & television studio unit of Spanish publishing company Grupo Planeta, Planeta 2010, under their joint-venture production subsidiary Planeta Junior to handle distribution to the then-upcoming shows from EM.TV such as Old Tom (which was produced by its Australian studio Yoram Gross-EM.TV) for the Spanish and Portuguese territories.; EM.TV & Merchandising would later sell their joint venture Iberian entertainment production/distribution unit Planeta Junior to Italian publishing company De Agostini a year in August 2004 when Planeta Junior have been expanded into Italy through Italian publishing company & co-parent of DeaPlaneta, De Agostini, as the unit Planeta Junior had assumed all of distribution rights to EM.TV´s entire catalogue of children and youth entertainment for Italy, Spain and Portugal with EM.TV selling its 50% stake of its Iberian entertainment production/distribution joint-venture subsidiary and transferring it into DeAgostini and became a joint-venture between DeAPlaneta and DeAgostini.
In May 2000, EM.TV announced it had further increased the Junior.TV, by planning to launch its own internet service entitled Junior-Web in Germany before expanding the website to other countries; The website have been launched six months later in November of that year.
Financial losses and restructuring In December 2000 when EM.TV & Merchandising suffered financial difficulties and its stock had been collapsed following their acquisitions, Bavaria-based German media company Kirch Group (who co-owns a joint venture programming catalog with EM.TV called Junior.TV) announced the acquisition of a majority stake in EM.TV & Merchandising saving EM.TV from bankruptcy and it gave KirchGroup a second media distribution group, in return KirchGroup had sold its 50% share of EM.TV's joint children's programming venture with Kirch, Junior.TV, whilst EM.TV had diverst 50% stake in the holding unit behind the Formula One racing series, SLEC, as EM.TV plans to sell its assets like its American entertainment company The Jim Henson Company; the deal was closed two months later in February 2001 as KirchGroup had completed its acquisition of a majority stake in EM.TV & Merchandising, and it gave EM.TV full control of their joint-venture children's programming brand Junior TV. In that same month EM.TV & Merchandising alongside its American entertainment company The Jim Henson Company sold their rights to the Sesame Street Muppets to American non-profit organisation Sesame Workshop giving them full control of the Sesame Street Muppets.