Kirch Hopes to Seal Deal with Carmakers this Week

German media group Kirch, who along with EM.TV owns 75 per cent of SLEC - the company which holds the commercial rights of the sport - expects to reach an agreement with the Formula One carmakers this week, according to reports in the Sunday Business newspaper.

The car manufacturers who compete in Formula One - Renault (Benetton), BMW (Williams), DaimlerChrysler (McLaren), Fiat (Ferrari) and Ford (Jaguar) - threatened recently to set up their own championship to rival Formula One if Kirch switched the sport's broadcasts to pay TV.

However, a spokesperson from Kirch said a deal between Kirch and the carmakers to sell a stake of SLEC could be completed this week.

"There are some details that have to be cleared up, but we expect the contract to be completed this week," the spokesperson told Sunday Business. "We expect to sit down and discuss a concrete deal with them (the carmakers) this week."

According to reports, Kirch would sell a 25 per cent stake of SLEC.