Polish TV broadcaster TVN has dismissed reports suggesting incumbent telco TPSA was looking to buy a stake in the pay-TV JV it is planning with DTH firm Canal+.
TVN is seeking regulatory approval to combine its DTH platform ‘n’ with Canal+’s…
Polish TV broadcaster TVN has dismissed reports suggesting incumbent telco TPSA was looking to buy a stake in the pay-TV JV it is planning with DTH firm Canal+.
TVN is seeking regulatory approval to combine its DTH platform ‘n’ with Canal+’s Cyfra+. Under the current arrangement, which was submitted to European regulators in January and could take 6-9 months to gain approval, TVN would take a 32% stake in the combined venture, with Vivendi-owned Canal+ taking 51%, and UPC, the cable company controlled by Liberty Global, taking the remaining 17% share.
However, TVN CEO Markus Tellenbach told journalists on 15 February that TPSA, which is owned by France Telecom, could also be looking to acquire a stake in the venture.
Tellenbach was cited saying TPSA had first expressed interest in the stake when the company signed a cooperation deal with TVN in 2010 on the joint sale of their products.
However, a TVN spokesman claimed these comments had been “taken out of context”.
He insisted there were no plans to sell a stake to TPSA, although all companies involved in the JV had the ability to do so via options in the next 3-4 years.
TPSA was unable to comment on the speculation, but reaffirmed the group’s commitment to its product partnership with TVN.
