Truce Reached in German Pay TV Battle

German media magnate Leo Kirch said he has completed a deal to jointly run the Premiere pay television channel with rival Bertelsmann group, signaling a truce after years of battling over the German pay TV market. Kirch reportedly hopes to link his troubled digital pay TV venture, DF-1, with the more established Premiere, a movie and sports channel that has 1.4 million subscribers. DF-1 has garnered only 30,000 subscribers in its year of operation. Under the deal, Kirch and Luxembourg-based CLT-UFA, half-owned by Bertelsmann, will split Premiere on a 50-50 basis. Kirch’s group said it signed an agreement with Canal Plus to buy its 37.5% share in Premiere, marking the French media concern’s exit from the venture. To complete the realignment, Kirch said that it would sell 12.5% of its Premiere shares to CLT-UFA. Kirch has held 12.5% of Premiere; CLT-UFA has had 37.5%.