Turkey’s Acunmedya acquires 50% of Germany’s Sport1

Turkish media group Acunmedya has taken a 50% stake in German sports broadcaster Sport1 as a ‘strategic investor’.

Sport1 Medien AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Swiss-based media group Highlight Communications, and Istanbul-based Acunmedya have agreed on broad cooperation deal whereby the Turkish group will acquire 50% of the shares in Sport1 GmbH.

In addition to the investment, the pair have also agreed an extensive content partnership as part of the strategic alliance.

Acunmedya entertainment and sports formats, such as Exatlon are to be brought to German TV on Sport1 for the first time.

The internationally successful sports reality format is set to launch on Sport1 in the autumn of this 2024. Created by Acunmedya, it blends sports, reality and entertainment featuring contestants who face physical and strategic challenges, testing their endurance, agility and mental strength.

The completion of the transaction is still subject to various conditions, including the approval of media and antitrust authorities.

Acunmedya, which owns Turkish TV channel TFV8 and streaming service Exxen, produces over 5,000 hours of content globally that aires in over 15 countries.

Acun Ilıcalı, founder and owner of the group, is the owner of Hull City football club in the UK.

Ilicali said: “We are very excited for our partnership with Highlight Group with which we share the same vision and passion for sports and entertainment. We hope to create a success story together by delivering inspiring innovative programs to our audiences in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I am looking forward to taking it to a new level together with the SportT1 team.”

Bernhard Burgener, chairman of the supervisory board of Sport1 Medien AG: “With Acunmedya Group, our Company has gained an outstanding strategic investor as a partner. I have been observing Acun Ilıcalı’s impressive entrepreneurial development for a very long time and am firmly convinced that we can expand Sport1 and make it more successful together with him.”