German media company Constantin Medien has extended the contract of its chief executive, Fred Kogel, until December 31, 2018.
Kogel has been a member of the management board since October 1, 2014 and became chief executive of Constantin Medien on January 1, 2016. From 2009 to 2014, the 56-year-old was the chairman of the supervisory board of the company.
From April 2003 to 2009, Kogel served as chief executive of Constantin Film, which belongs to the Constantin Medien group.
The extension of Kogel’s contract comes amid an ongoing power struggle at Constantin Medien. Kogel and Constantin Medien chairman Dieter Hahn are seeking to sell off the Constantin Film business, while former chairman of the management board Bernhard Burgener is seeking to prevent this.
In December, a takeover approach from Hahn for the German media company and subsidiary Highlight Communications was rejected by the latter entity.
Constantin Medien in November said it planned to launch a second free-to-air sports channel as part of a strategic shift that will allow the company to concentrate its efforts on the sports sector.
Constantin currently operates free-to-air channel Sport1, and pay-television channels Sport1 Plus and Sport1 US, as well as the Team Marketing agency.
In March 2015, Team Marketing reached a long-term agreement with Uefa, European football's governing body, under which it will continue as the exclusive agent for the global marketing of commercial rights relating to the Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup club competitions.
The term of the new agency agreement covers Uefa club competitions from the 2015-16 season to the end of the 2020-21 campaign and, subject to Team’s ongoing performance, will also include seasons 2021-22 to 2023-24. Team is responsible for the world-wide marketing of media, sponsorship and licensing rights to the three competitions.