Kirch Group

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Kirch Group

Native name	KirchGruppe
Industry	Media
Founded	1955; 69 years ago (1955) in Bavaria, Germany
Founder	Leo Kirch
Defunct	2002 (2002)
Fate	Bankruptcy, assets sold; ProSiebenSat.1 Media's majority stake acquired by Mediaset
Successor	MFE - MediaForEurope (via ProSiebenSat.1 Media)
Headquarters	Bavaria, Germany

KirchGruppe (KirchGroup) was a German media group founded by Leo Kirch in the 1950s. It was the dominant buyer and seller of TV programming rights in Germany.^[1] By 2000, it controlled a 52.5 percent stake in what became the country's biggest broadcaster, ProSiebenSat.1 Media.^[2]

The group collapsed in 2002 largely due to the debts associated with the purchase of sports rights for its television channels and the launch of pay-TV services. It was Germany's biggest corporate collapse since World War II.^[3]

KirchMedia declared bankruptcy on 8 April 2002, followed by KirchPayTV on 8 May 2002 and finally KirchBeteiligung on 12 June 2002 along with the holding company for the group, Taurus Holding.