 | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989; 34 years ago |
| Headquarters | Ismaning, Germany |
Key people | Olaf Schroder(president) Paul Graf(Supervisory board) |
| Revenue | €119 million (2018) |
| Owner | Highlight Communications |
Number of employees | 583 (2018) |
| Website | https://www.sport1-medien.de/en/ |
Sport1 Medien AG (previously known asEM.TV & Merchandising AG,EM.Sport Media AG andConstantin Medien AG) is a German international media company that has a strong focus on the sports and entertainment sectors. It's based inIsmaning nearMunich 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 studioFlying Bark Productions until 2008 & its the former owner of American entertainment companyThe Jim Henson Company before selling it in 2003.
In 1997, EM.TV went public and started to expand in various businesses.
In October 1997, EM.TV & Merchandising announced a production partnership with Australian animation studioYoram Gross-Village Roadshow the producer ofBlinky 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.[1] 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 companyVillage 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.
In August 1999, EM.TV & Merchandising announced that they have taken a 25% stake in German independent film production companyConstantin Film including the latter's 51% stake in Olga Film, marking their entry into the feature film business and increasing their family entertainment business.[2]
In September 1999, EM.TV & Merchandising entered a joint venture with Danish magazine publishing companyEgmont to launch a publishing subsidiary that could bring EM.TV's productions under one roof named Junior.Publishing.[3] 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 companyTele München Gruppe (TMG) in order for the former to expand their children's entertainment library and its feature film activities.[4]
In March 2000, EM.TV & Merchandising purchased a 50% stake in Speed Promotions LTD.
When EM.TV & Merchandising suffered financial difficulties and its stock had been collapsed following their acquisitions, Bavaria-based German media companyKirch 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 that same month EM.TV & Merchandising alongside its American entertainment company The Jim Henson Company sold their rights to theSesame Street Muppets to American non-profit organisationSesame Workshop giving them full control of the Sesame Street Muppets.[5]
In March 2001 one year after EM.TV's acquisition of American entertainment companyThe Jim Henson Company and following Kirch Group's acquisition back in February of that same year, EM.TV & Merchandising was planning to sell their American entertainment company The Jim Henson Company following the sale of the rights to theSesame Street Muppets to Sesame Workshop and EM.TV's major corporate restructure.[6][7]
In April 2001 one year after EM.TV acquisition of 50% inFormula One holding company Speed Investments, EM.TV & Merchandising sold their 24.5% stake in Motorsports company and holding group ofFormula One Speed Investments to the Kirch Group[8]
In June 2001, EM.TV & Merchandising exited the internet operations and announced that they have shut down their website Junior-Web, sold their internet activities division EM Interactive to German media fund Victory Media Group and had it renamed along with Junior-Web to InteractiveMedia with former banker Peter Kolb managing the renamed division as EM.TV will licence the Junior brand to them.[9] A month later in late-July 2001, EM.TV and their American entertainment subsidiary The Jim Henson Company sold their 8% minority stake inCrown Media Holdings including their channelOdyssey Network to its investor Hallmark Entertainment and rebranded it to Hallmark Channel with EM.TV and their American entertainment subsidiary The Jim Henson Company striking a deal with Crown Media to license series from EM.TV's own library including their Henson library.[10]
In November 2001 two years after EM.TV & Denmark-based Egmont jointly founded Junior.Publishing, EM.TV announced their exiting of the publishing business by selling its 50% of their joint venture children's publishing company Junior.Publishing to Egmont Group giving Egmont full control of Junior.Publishing renaming it to Egmont Publishing so that EM.TV would focus on their core entertainment business.[11]
In May 2003, EM.TV announced that they have sold their American entertainment companyThe Jim Henson Company the then-owner behindThe Muppets andKermit the Frog back to the Henson family for $78 million bringing back ownership of The Jim Henson Company to the hands of Henson family once more.[12]
On January 26, 2004, EM.TV who had acquired a 50% in Kirch Group's children's programming library under the Junior brand five years ago in 1999 announced their planning to take full control of their joint venture programming library unit Junior.TV which they co-owned with KirchMedia with the former planning to acquire KirchMedia's remaining 50% of their joint venture programming catalogue unit Junior.TV.[13] Seven months later in July of that year, EM.TV announced their completion of their remaining 50% stake of their joint-venture programming catalogue unit Junior.TV from its co-owner KirchMedia whi had entered bankruptcy that year bringing an end to EM.TV's partnership with Kirch with Junior.TV's programming library being placed under EM.TV's entertainment division.[14]
At the start of November 2004, EM.TV created two subsidiaries, EM.Entertainment and EM.Sport.[15]
In January 2006 seven years after EM.TV & Merchandising's acquisition of 50% of Australian animation studio Yoram Gross EM.TV along with their successful partnership with Australian producer Yoram Gross through EM.'s division EM.Entertainment, EM.TV & Merchandising under their entertainment division EM.Entertainment announced their full acquisition of the remaining 50% stake of Australian entertainment and animation studio joint venture Yoram Gross EM.TV from its founders Yoram Gross and his wife Sandra Gross giving EM. Entertainment full control of the Australian animation and production group.[16] In October 2006 following their acquisition of the remaining 50% stake ten months before, Yoram Gross-EM.TV announced a restructuring and re-branding of the company under its current name toFlying Bark Productions with the rebranded company planning to expand their portfolio into the adult-animated and children's genre alongside their distribution division Yoram Gross Distribution which was also renamed to Flying Bark Distribution like their renamed company under EM.Entertainment.[17][18]
In May 2007, EM.TV announced that they are planning to exit the children's entertainment business and to sell their children's division EM.Entertainment GmbH including their Australian entertainment & animation production studioFlying Bark Productions, its distribution library including Yoram Gross' animated productions such asBlinky Bill, the library of Japanese animation studioZuiyo and its classic catalogue such asMaya the Bee andVic the Viking and their German television channelJunior.[19]
In late-June 2007, EM.TV & Merchandising
On February 26, 2008, one year after EM.TV & Merchandising changed its name to EM.Sport Media AG and three months before EM.Sport Media AG sold their entertainment division EM.Entertainment GmbH along with its library, EM.Sport Media AG under its entertainment production division EM.Entertainment established a distribution partnership with Belgian production company Studio 100 through the latter's Munich-based German international distribution division Studio 100 Media (now Studio 100 International) to distribute EM.Sport Media's entertainment portfolio including their classics such asMaya the Bee andVic the Viking on TV, home entertainment and VOD platforms internationally excluding US, Germany, Australia, New Zealand.[20]
In late-May 2008 following EM.Sport Media AG through their entertainment division EM.Entertainment GmbH's successful distribution partnership with Belgian production company Studio 100 under their German international distribution division Studio 100 Media three months before, EM.Sport Media AG announced that they have exited the children's entertainment and animation business and had sold their children's entertainment division EM.Entertainment GmBH alongside their Australian entertainment & animation studioFlying Bark Productions, their German television channel Junior and their distribution library including Yoram Gross' animated productions such asBlinky Bill, the library of Japanese animation studioZuiyo and its classic catalogue such asMaya the Bee andVic the Viking to Belgian children's production companyStudio 100 for €41 million in order for EM.Sport Media to focus on their expanded sport activities with Studio 100 taking over EM.Entertainment's Australian entertainment & animation studio as their own Australian in-house animation studio outside of Belgium and had EM.Entertainment's library under the latter's own distribution arm Studio 100 Media with Studio 100 will launch new adaptations of the two classic shows.[21]
In April 2009 following EM.Sport Media AG's merger with Swiss media giant Highlight Communications the parent company of German film distributorConstantin Film, EM.Sport Media AG announced their rebranding of its name to Constantin Medien AG which was named after Constantin Film to reflect its expansion of the group's activities.[22]
On February 13, 2018, a takeover by Highlight Communications AG was completed.[23] On September 26, 2019, the company was delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.[24]
At the Annual General Meeting 2019, the change of name to Sport1 Medien AG was resolved. The change was entered in the Commercial Register of the City of Munich (HRB 148 760) on January 2, 2020, and thus became effective. The change of name is also accompanied by a change in the company's purpose, which was also resolved by the Annual General Meeting in July last year and is now more strongly aligned to the company's activities in the digital sector.[25]
On February 23, 2024,Acun Medya acquired 50% of subsidiary Sport1 GmbH.[26]
The subsidiaries of Sport1 Medien AG includeSport1 GmbH, Magic Sports Media GmbH, Match IQ GmbH, PLAZAMEDIA GmbH and LEITMOTIF Creators GmbH. In December 2019, the Marketing Segment, which previously belonged to Sport1 Media GmbH, was also integrated under Sport1 GmbH.
Beyond the activities of Sport1, the Sport1 Medien AG corporate portfolio includes MAGIC SPORTS MEDIA as a marketing company in the betting, poker, casino and lottery sectors, Match IQ as the full-service sports event and consulting agency for associations, leagues and clubs for internationalization, match day management and the organization of friendly matches, tournaments, training camps and trips abroad, PLAZAMEDIA in the sports and entertainment area for media channels and LEITMOTIF as consulting unit for companies and brands. Within the scope of their business activities, these companies also continue to focus on third-party business.[32]