Chris Dziadul, October 31, 2024
Shock telco transaction in Romania
Rivals Vodafone Romania and Digi have joined forces to buy Telekom Romania Mobile from Deutsche Telekom-back OTE. An announcement on the transaction was made on the Athens Stock Exchange on the morning of October 31 and reported in the Romanian media. The three parties have signed an MoU on a possible deal but as of October 31 no further details were as yet available.
Magyar Telekom to close DTH service
The Hungarian incumbent telco Magyar Telekom has announced that it will close its satellite TV service on January 28, 2025. The service has not been sold to any news subscribers for three years and most, though not all, existing ones will be able to switch to the telco’s Telekom TV offer. The satellite service is currently believed to have around 59,000 subscribers, with Magyar Telekom’s total TV customer base standing at some 1.4 million.
M7 and Antenna Entertainment expand partnership
Canal+-backed M7 Group has concluded a multi-year agreement with Antenna Entertainment for the satellite launch of dedicated Czech versions of AXN Black and AXN White via Astra 23.5 East and the M7-owned Skylink TV platform. According to M7 Group, The new agreement builds upon a long-standing partnership between M7 and Antenna Entertainment for the satellite distribution of AXN Czechia and some of the portfolio’s Hungarian channels such as AXN Hungary, Viasat2 and Viasat Film via the M7 satellite platform at 1 degree West for both third party delivery as well as distribution to local subscribers.
Polish Competition Authority concludes antitrust proceedings
Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has concluded proceedings concerning the practices of Telewizja Polsat and companies from the Discovery Group. The results of an in-depth study, launched in April 2021, show that the suspected actions of the broadcasters do not impact the contents of bundles offered to subscribers. UOKiK notes that during the period of the study consumers have gained a lot more options to freely choose the content they want to watch due to growth in the popularity of streaming services.
Russia hits Google with incredulous fine
A Russian court has fined Google $20.6 decillion for failing to restore access to 17 Russian TV channels on YouTube. The amount, which is growing, is equivalent to the number followed by 33 zeros. Google initially suspended the channels as the result of US sanctions and no longer has a legal presence in Russia.
e& completes PPF Telecom acquisition
Abu Dhabi’s e& has successfully concluded the acquisition of a 50% plus one share in PPF Telecom Group’s assets in Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia. The previously announced transaction amounts to €2.15 billion, in addition to a potential earn-out of up to €350 million. PPF’s CEO Jiri Smejc has reiterated that its telco assets in the Czech Republic will remain outside of e& PPF Telecom and will be wholly owned by PPF.
Netflix to contribute to Czech film fund
The Czech government has approved an amendment to the country’s Audiovisual Act that requires global streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ to contribute 2% of their annual turnover in the Czech Republic to the Czech film fund. The requirement will come into operation on January 1 next year and create more of a level playing field as it also applies to commercial broadcasters, cinemas, film distributors and Czech streaming services.
Key changes at TVN Warner Bros. Discovery
Poland’s TVN Warner Bros. Discovery has appointed Lidia Kazen programme director at TVN’s channels and Dorota Eberhardt programme director streaming, new generation channels and programming operations, effective November 1. At the same time, Bogdan Czaja, group VP programming & operations, is leaving the company. According to TVN Warner Bros. Discovery, the changes reflect a new approach to programme management strategy, which provides for maximum tightening of cooperation between the areas of linear TV and streaming. Separately, Player, the streaming service operated by TVN Warner Bros. Discovery, has added the Polish public broadcaster’s channels TVP1, TVP2, TVP3 and 16 regional services to its linear channel offer.
Wieslaw Walendziak rejoins Polsat
Wieslaw Walendziak has been appointed to the Supervisory Board of Telewizja Polsat with responsibility for information and journalism. He has been linked with the broadcaster since its launch and was previous its programme director and general director. Walendziak has also the head of the public broadcaster Telewizja Polska before pursuing, and then leaving, a career in politics.
Telekom Srbija to absorb four companies
The Serbian incumbent Telekom Srbija plans to absorb four companies it already fully owns. According to N1, it acquired the companies - KDS Internet TV, Film Klub Extra, Krajnalic Komunikacije, and Teledirekt – earlier this year.
Emitel’s CEO resigns
Andrzej Kozlowski, the CEO of the Polish national transmission company Emitel, has resigned after seven years in the position. Although he will officially down at the end of the year, he has accepted to join Emitel’s Supervisory Board.
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© Chris Dziadul, 2024
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