APRIL 10, 2002
Kirch PayTV holds on
With Kirch Media having gone into administration on Monday the focus has switched to its sister company Kirch PayTV with rumors circulating that this firm will also have to seek protection because of huge debts.
The loss of Kirch PayTV income would be a major blow to Formula One and to the teams which benefit from the income from pay-per-view television. It is also not clear whether the collapse would have any effect on the day-to-day running of the F1 television facility as parts of it (such as satellite dishes) are rumored to belong to Premiere rather than to the Formula One group of companies. It is also not clear whether the German pay-TV service will continue.
There are also questions as to whether the holding company of the Kirch empire, called Taurus Holding, may also have to declare itself insolvent.
Whatever the case, and whatever the possibilities which may now open up, the immediate result of all this is not good news for F1.