Premiere owns the right to the World Cup

Kirch Group's debts are thought to be about 6.5bn euros ($5.9bn; �4.4bn), though as a privately held company it does not have to publish its accounts.

Much of them stem from the huge sums it paid to build up the pay TV platform and buy sports rights for Premiere.

But pay TV has struggled to find viewers in a country with more than 30 free-to-air channels.

Murdoch in the wings

The parent firm's insolvency was "the only chance to shake off the past and put Premiere on a solid footing," said Georg Kofler, Premiere chief executive.

Rupert Murdoch's satellite broadcaster BSkyB owns a 22% stake in KirchPayTV.

Mr Murdoch has reportedly held talks with the German firm's other creditors about the possibility of a deal which would put BSkyB in charge of Premiere.

BSkyB holds an option that gives it the right to force the German company to buy back the shares for 1.3bn euros in cash after 1 October - money the German broadcaster does not have.

Mr Murdoch has denied he wants to take over Premiere, insisting he wants the cash instead.

Other investors in KirchPayTV include investment bank Lehman Brothers and Saudi Prince Al-Waleed.

Hopes for change

Analysts said the bankruptcy filing could give KirchPayTV breathing space to restructure its debts.

"The big advantage for Kirch is that the insolvency gives it room to manoeuvre," said Markus Wallner, a media analyst at HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt in Dusseldorf.

The Kirch Group has a complex web of subsidiaries.

When KirchMedia filed for bankruptcy on 8 April most of the parent group's business remained intact.

Another Kirch division, KirchBeteiligung, owns rights to broadcast Formula One motor racing, and a 40% stake in publishing house Axel Springer.

The ultimate holding company for Kirch Group is called Taurus Holding.

That is where Mr Murdoch's BSkyB pointed to when asked for its reaction to the bankruptcy filing.

"If the current liquidity issues of Taurus Holding are not resolved, the group is unlikely to receive a significant amount, if any [for its 22% stake in Premiere]," BSkyB said.