Kabel Eins

Logo of Kabel Eins

Kabel Eins, then known as "Kabelkanal", started broadcasting for the first time on 29 February 1992. At that time, the channel could be received exclusively via the cable connections of Deutsche Bundespost (later Deutsche Telekom). The cable channel was also broadcast in analogue and unencrypted via the Eutelsat satellite at 13° East and in D2-MAC format. Since 1995, Kabel 1 has been broadcasting via the Astra 1a satellite, which enabled unencrypted reception throughout Europe, after which transmission via Eutelsat was discontinued. The cable channel was a joint venture between the Kirch Group and Deutsche Bundespost, and the programme consisted mainly of old films and series from Leo Kirch's archive. ProSieben, then a Kirch Group company, held 45 per cent of the cable channel at the time. The programme consisted mainly of feature films, series, documentaries and entertainment formats. It was aimed at an older audience with a mixture of culture, science and entertainment. The slogan "gute Unterhaltung mit Kabelkanal" (good entertainment with a cable channel) was intended to emphasise the channel's positioning in relation to its competitors, with a focus on older, less violent films. The channel was later renamed "Kabel 1" and then "kabel eins" in 2015. In 1997, the Kabel 1 logo had to be redesigned following a lawsuit by ARD, as there was a risk of confusion with the logo of Das Erste. After many years of litigation, ARD's lawsuit was dismissed in 1999 and the logo got its "1" back, which also led to a comprehensive overhaul of the on-air design. Since 2009, the kabeleins.de programme has also been available on the Internet. All programmes can be accessed free of charge as a live stream, in the Kabel Eins media library and on Joyn, sometimes as early as seven days before the TV broadcast. Today, Kabel Eins is a wholly owned subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 Media and also has news programmes in addition to classic entertainment programmes.

Key Facts

Audience Share3.13%
Ownership TypePrivate
Geographic CoverageNational
Content TypeFree
Active Transparency
company/channel informs proactively and comprehensively about its ownership, data is constantly updated and easily verifiable

Ownership

Ownership StructureSeven.One Entertainment Group GmbH, which operates the Kabel Eins channel, is wholly owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE. The ProSiebenSat.1 shares are held by institutional investors in the Netherlands, the USA, Germany and France as well as private investors. As of the reporting date on 31 December 2023, according to the company's annual financial statements, these included: the French international banking and financial services company BNP PARIBAS SA with 9.69%, the US investment company BlackRock with 3.83% and the US financial services company JPMorgan Chase with 4.96%. A total of 59.12 per cent of the shares are in free float. ProSiebenSat.1 Media also holds 2.70 per cent of the shares. However, the latter shares do not carry voting or dividend rights. Via the media holding company MediaForEurope (MFE), the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi holds 29.79 per cent of the company and is the largest single shareholder, according to its own information. ProSiebenSat.1 Media states its stake as "only" 26.58%. As it only owns around half of the shares in the media holding company MediaForEurope (MFE), the Berlusconi family's stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media is stated here as 13.3 per cent. Renáta Kellnerová, considered the richest woman in the Czech Republic, is the Group's second-largest single shareholder with 11.6 per cent via her holding company PPF.
Voting RightsVoting rights are exercised on the basis of German stock corporation law. There are shares with voting and dividend rights and shares without voting and dividend rights. Under the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), holders of ProSiebenSat.1 Media common stock are required to notify ProSiebenSat.1 Media and the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) if their share of voting rights changes in relation to certain thresholds (3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 50% or 75% of voting rights). ProSiebenSat.1 Media is obliged to publish the voting rights notifications in accordance with Section 40 (1) of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG). The voting rights notifications are published via DGAP (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ad-hoc-Publizität mbH). In addition, ProSiebenSat.1 Media publishes the voting rights notifications here for the current and previous financial year in the respective annual reports.
Individual Owner
Group / Individual Owner
  • Treasury stock

    ProSiebenSat.1 Media holds 2.70% of the shares. However, these shares do not carry voting or dividend rights.
    2.7
  • Renáta Kellernová

    In February 2023, Renáta Kellnerová acquired a direct stake of 9.01% (including 9.1% in financial instruments) in ProSiebenSat.1 Media, making her the second-largest shareholder in the media company. She currently holds 11.5 per cent of the shares via her holding company PPF. She is the widow of the Czech billionaire and entrepreneur Petr Kellner and founder of the PPF Group, who died in a helicopter crash in March 2021. According to its own information, the PPF Group operates several television and online media companies in Central and South Eastern Europe, such as Central European Media with a large number of television channels. It sees itself as an active investor in the telecommunications, media and technology sectors. Kellnerová is considered the richest woman in the Czech Republic.
    11.5
  • Free float

    Some of the ProSiebenSat.1 shares are held by institutional investors in the Netherlands, the USA, Germany and France. As of the reporting date on 31 December 2023, these included the French international banking and financial services company BNP PARIBAS SA with 9.69%, the US investment company BlackRock with 3.83% and the US financial services company JPMorgan Chase with 4.96%, according to the company's annual financial statements. A total of 59.12 per cent of the shares are in free float.
    59.1

Media Companies / Groups

Facts

Founding Year1992
Founder
  • Leo Kirch (1926-2011)
    founded the Kirch Group in 1955 and developed it into one of the most influential media companies in Europe. His rise began with the acquisition of film rights, which soon earned him the nickname "film rights dealer". Kirch's business model was based on the acquisition and licensing of film and TV rights, which secured him a key role in the German media landscape. In the 1980s, Kirch entered the private television market and founded several television channels, including SAT.1 and later ProSieben and Kabel Eins, initially as a cable channel. The introduction of private television in Germany was a revolutionary step that broke the monopoly of the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF and fundamentally changed the German television market. Leo Kirch knew how to steadily expand his empire through skilful investments and strategic partnerships. The film dealer initiated the merger of the two channels Sat.1 and ProSieben in 2000. Previously, this had not been permitted by the Cartel Office's concentration rules. Therefore, his son Thomas Kirch (*1956) was officially a shareholder of ProSieben. In 1997, Thomas Kirch became the majority shareholder of ProSieben Media AG with a 58.4 % stake, which included the television programmes Pro 7 and Kabel Eins. In 1999, Thomas Kirch contributed his shares in ProSieben Media to his father's KirchMedia, which thus became the majority shareholder in both Sat.1 and the ProSieben Group. In the course of the merger, Axel Springer acquired an 11.5 per cent stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media; Leo Kirch in turn held 40 per cent of Axel Springer. After doubts arose in 2001 about Kirch's solvency, Springer sold its stake to ProSiebenSat.1 Media. The excessive reliance on outside capital and expensive rights purchases, particularly in the sports sector, led to considerable debt for the Kirch Group. In 2002, the company had to file for insolvency, a dramatic end for one of Europe's largest media empires. Thomas Kirch himself held a 6.54 per cent stake in KirchMedia at the time. Leo Kirch largely withdrew from the public eye and died in Munich in 2011. Following the insolvency of the Kirch Group, Thomas Kirch focussed on other business areas and largely stayed out of the media. He died in 2014 at the age of 57. The effects of the Kirch era on the German media landscape can still be felt today. Leo Kirch was a pioneer whose vision and willingness to take risks laid the foundations for modern private television in Germany. Despite the tragic end of his company, his contribution to media development remains undisputed.
CEO
  • Felix von Mengden
    has been head of Kabel Eins since 2023. He was previously deputy head of the channel. Von Mengden was appointed Senior Marketing Manager of the television channels 13th Street and SciFi, which are part of NBC Universal International Networks, in 2009. He had previously been part of the company's marketing department since 2005.
  • Markus Breitenecker
    born 1968 in Austria, has been a member of the Executive Board of ProSiebenSat.1 Media since 1 April 2024 and acts as COO. In this role, he is responsible for Strategy, M&A, Marketing, IT & AI, Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability. He is also responsible for the Seven.One Entertainment Group and Streaming, Platforms & Growth at Joyn. Breitenecker studied law at the University of Vienna in 1992. In 1996 he became CEO of 'The Weather Channel' in Düsseldorf and in 1997 Head of Sales and Public Media Policy at Kabel Eins in Munich. In 1998, he founded ProSieben Austria and has been CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 Austria ever since. In this role, he introduced the editorial programme window AustriaNews and Café PULS in 2004 and launched Austria's largest private television station, PULS 4, in 2008. In 2014, he initiated the prime-time show "2 Minuten 2 Millionen - Die PULS 4 Start-up-Show" and 7Ventures Austria. In 2016, he founded the international digital festival "4GAMECHANGERS". In 2017, he acquired the Austrian TV broadcasting group ATV and turned ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 into the leading TV group in Austria. He also launched the live TV streaming product "ZAPPN" in 2017 and published the book "Change the Game" in 2018. In 2019, he launched the 24/7 live news channel "PULS 24" and in 2023 Austria's streaming service JOYN.
  • Bert Habets
    is a member of the Executive Board of ProSiebenSat.1 and Chairman of the Management Board of Seven.One Entertainment Group and Managing Director of Kabel Eins. He holds a Master's degree in Economics and Law (Tax Law) from Maastricht University. He began his career in 1996 at NIBC Bank in The Hague. In 1999, Habets moved to CLT-UFA, which later became the RTL Group. There he initially worked as a project manager in business development before being promoted to Vice President Controlling in 2000. In 2001, Habets returned to the Netherlands to take up the position of CFO of the Dutch media group, which was later renamed RTL Nederland. In February 2008, Habets became CEO of RTL Nederland. In 2017, Habets became Co-CEO of RTL Group to lead the company together with Guillaume de Posch. In 2019, Habets stepped down from his position for personal reasons. Bert Habets has been Chairman of the Executive Board of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE since November 2022. He moved to ProSiebenSat.1 from the European media company Antenna Group, where he was CEO from November 2021 to August 2022.
  • Dr Stefan Endriß
    as CFO of Seven.One Entertainment Group he is also Managing Director of Kabel Eins. In this position, he is responsible for all finance and controlling areas of the Seven.One Entertainment Group and its subsidiaries. Endriß previously worked in various positions at the Otto Group and as CFO of A.W. Niemeyer GmbH, a retailer of sailing and water sports equipment.
  • Henrik Pabst
    as CCO of Seven.One Entertainment Group he is also Managing Director of Sat.1. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Seven.One Studios. Before joining Seven.One Entertainment in 2019, he worked at Red Arrow Studios for seven years, mainly as President of Red Arrow Studios International. Other professional positions include Vice President of Entertainment and Business Development for the German, Austrian, Swiss and Benelux markets at IMG Media. Pabst studied law in Kiel and at the same time worked as a production assistant for two years. He was then a producer at Tonix Pictures and became self-employed in 2003.
Editor-In-Chief
  • Ulrike Krey
    will be Editor-in-Chief of Kabel Eins from 1 July 2024. Krey already stood in for her predecessor Susanne Stipp during her parental leave at Kabel Eins in 2021/22. Ulrike Krey was most recently Editor-in-Chief of "Galileo".
  • Arne Teetz
    has been head of the new central newsroom at Seven.One Entertainment Group, which produces news for ProSieben, Sat.1 and Kabel Eins, since April 2022. Previously, Teetz was Editor-in-Chief of TV & Moving Picture at Welt and Editor-in-Chief of N24, a news channel owned by Axel Springer, for a total of eleven years. N24 and later Welt supplied ProSieben, Sat.1 and Kabel Eins with news. Under his leadership, the newsroom of the Seven.One Entertainment Group has taken over the production of all news itself from January 2023. The team consists of 60 members and produces all of the Group's news formats at its headquarters in Unterföhring. Teetz began his journalistic career with a traineeship at Sat.1, where he later also worked as a foreign correspondent.
  • Sven Pietsch
    is Chairman of the ProSiebenSat.1 Editorial Board.
ContactSeven.One Entertainment Group GmbH
Medienallee 7
85774 Unterföhring
info@seven.one
+49 (0)89 / 9507 - 10
www.seven.one; www.sat1.de
RevenueMissing Data
Operating ProfitMissing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Market ShareMissing Data
Headlines
Meta DataThe share of the total audience in per cent for the TV channels comes from AGF Videoforschung in collaboration with GfK 2023 and refers to the average annual share of the total audience.
The Berlusconi family owns 50.002% of the votes, but not the shares, in MediaForEurope (MFE) through its holding company Fininvest. The latter holds 26.58 per cent of the shares in ProSiebenSat1 Media, which is based in Germany, while the Berlusconi family therefore only holds 13.29 per cent.
Sources
Documents (PDF)
  • Unternehmensbeteiligungen, MFE-MEDIAFOREUROPE N.V.
    Link File
  • Stimmrechtsanteile, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE: Veröff entlichung gemäß § 40 Abs. 1 WpHGmit dem Ziel der europaweiten Verbreitung
    Link File
  • Geschäftsbericht 2023 - Die Kennzahlen der ProSiebenSat.1 Group
    Link File
  • Jahresabschluss zum 31.12.2023 und Lagebericht
    Link File
  • Bericht des Aufsichtsrats - für die Hauptversammlung 2024
    Link File