History: 2001 - 2005

2001

March 5

H.O.T. Home Order Television AG and ProSiebenSat.1 Group launch a joint segment of live shopping programming on channels Sat.1 und Kabel 1.

March 28

In March 2001, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG puts out a new EUR 400 million bond issue, with a fixed yield of 5.875 percent. Maturity is March 2006.

May 21

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG acquires 48.4 percent of Euvia Media AG & Co. KG. The Euvia acquisition expands the ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s portfolio into the promising transaction television sector. Euvia owns the stations 9Live and sonnenklar tv.

July

N24 moves part of its operations from Munich to Berlin. Starting July 1, it produces custom news programming for the ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s four stations.

August 13

ProSieben Digital Media GmbH and Kirch New Media AG merge, retroactive to January 1, 2001, to form Kirch Intermedia GmbH. The new joint venture consolidates all major multimedia operations of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group and the Kirch Group. The ProSiebenSat.1 Group is the largest single owner, with a 49.9 percent stake.

September 7

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG and KirchMedia agree to merge. After the merger, KirchMedia will become a stock corporation and go public as a new stock issue.

2002

March 20

KirchMedia and ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG cancel the merger plans announced in September 2001.

September 1

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG acquires all of multimedia firm SevenOne Intermedia GmbH (formerly Kirch Intermedia GmbH), the ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s multimedia center of competence.

2003

June 11

The ProSiebenSat.1 Group obtains the exclusive Free TV rights for the UEFA Champions League. The agreement with the European Soccer Union covers 39 live games and 90 highlights broadcasts from the 2003/04 through 2005/06 seasons. Sat.1 will carry the best match of the week live.

July 16

The ProSiebenSat.1 Group obtains exclusive rights to the entire feature film output of Sony Pictures Entertainment from 2001 through 2003.

August 11

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG gets a new majority shareholder, Saban Capital Group, Inc., which acquires KirchMedia GmbH & Co. KGaA’s voting majority in Germany’s largest private television group.

August 19

The ProSiebenSat.1 Group acquires the exclusive Free TV broadcasting rights to the feature films made by Hollywood studio Paramount Pictures from 2002 to 2005. The extensive package includes the third blockbuster in the “Mission: Impossible” series.

2004

January 7

The ProSiebenSat.1 Group acquires Free TV broadcasting rights for a long list of blockbusters and top series from Hollywood studio Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. Among the highlights are “The Matrix Reloaded,” “The Matrix Revolutions” and “The Last Samurai” with superstar Tom Cruise.

January 14

Peter Christmann is appointed to the Executive Board of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. As the Board member responsible for marketing and sales, he is in charge of all marketing activities of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group.


June 1

CEO Urs Rohner leaves ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. Guillaume de Posch is the new CEO.

September 16

The ProSiebenSat.1 Group establishes a new Diversification segment that consolidates the activities of two subsidiaries: SevenOne Intermedia and MM MerchandisingMedia. The restructuring is a step toward diversifying the Group’s revenue sources and building income from sources other than TV advertising.

Activities

September 17

The ProSiebenSat.1 Group founds a separate subsidiary, SevenOne International, to sell TV productions internationally. The new company will market broadcasting rights for ProSiebenSat.1 Group TV productions worldwide.

SevenOne International


November 16

The ProSiebenSat.1 Group launches a German-language TV channel in the United States. "ProSiebenSat.1 Welt" is to go on the air at the beginning of 2005, with general-interest programming selected from the best of Sat.1, ProSieben, Kabel 1 and N24.

ProSiebenSat.1 Welt

2005

January 12

As a result of the Spyglass Entertainment film deals, the ProSiebenSat.1 Group acquires the German TV rights to all upcoming films produced during and after 2005, including the Steven Spielberg production "Memoirs of a Geisha".

January 24

By its fifth anniversary, the news channel N24 breaks even. The pre-tax profits have reached 1.8 million Euros.

February 17

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG closes a deal with Constantin Film. The agreement includes approximately thirty titles including Mel Gibson´s "Passion of the Christ".


February 22

At five o´clock pm ProSiebenSat.1 Welt goes on air with Bundestrainer Jürgen Klinsmann pushing the launch button. Managing directors of the US network are Hans Fink and Jan Frouman.

June 2

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG takes ober the remaining shares of Euvia Media AG & Co. KG. Broadcast stations 9Live and sonnenklarTV are counted among Euvia Media´s assets.

August 5

Axel Springer AG is to be the new majority owner of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group. Axel Springer AG signed a binding agreement with P7S1 Holding L.P. to acquire all of P7S1 Holding’s shares of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. The acquisition is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities and media regulators. Once the purchase is complete, Axel Springer AG will hold 62.5 percent of the total capital stock of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG.