Romanian telco RCS&RDS is understood to have sold its Czech Republic satellite TV arm in its latest DTH exit from a country in Central and Eastern Europe.
TelecomFinance understands the group has agreed to sell its Digi TV unit to Czech utility Lama,…
Romanian telco RCS&RDS is understood to have sold its Czech Republic satellite TV arm in its latest DTH exit from a country in Central and Eastern Europe.
TelecomFinance understands the group has agreed to sell its Digi TV unit to Czech utility Lama, and the deal has been put to the country’s Office for Protection of Economic Competition for approval.
RCS&RDS and Lama, which provides mobile services in addition to supplying gas and electricity, declined to comment.
Rumours of talks between the two companies first surfaced in 2014, a year after the Romanian group disposed of its DTH operations in Slovakia and Croatia.
It sold Digi Slovakia to the country’s largest telecoms operator in May 2013, and Croatia’s Digi TV to Telekom Austria in March of that year.
RCS&RDS provides cable, internet, fixed and mobile services in addition to the DTH business it is scaling down, and also has operations in Spain, Italy, Hungary and Serbia, as well its domestic market in Romania.
Meanwhile, Lama’s Czech Republic acquisition comes as the country looks set to welcome another DTH platform.
Telekom Austria, which made its first foray into the satellite TV sector when it bought its Croatian asset as part of its convergence strategy, is reported to be in talks with a Czech fixed-line group called Itself about launching the service.
The Austrian telco is already said to be negotiating with Slovakian IPTV provider Antik Telecom about setting up a satellite TV platform in Slovakia.
After announcing its Croatia acquisition, the group told TelecomFinance that it could consider acquiring satellite TV services in its other CEE markets, which as well as Austria includes Bulgaria, Slovenia, Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia.
The companies were unable to comment.
Other DTH platforms in Czech Republic include M7 Group’s Skylink and UPC’s freeSAT.
