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Merger sets up Digital+ pay-DTT game
Iñaki Ferreras ©RapidTVNews | 27-12-2009
Mediaset’s new interest in Spanish broadcasters Cuatro and Digital+ will give the Italian media group the possibility of offering some of Digital+'s pay-TV channels via digital-terrestrial TV (DTT).
New channels could broadcast from within the multiplex Telecinco will control after analogue switch off, due this coming April. This could mean the Mediaset channel could broadcast a wide range of Canal+'s offerings such as Comedy, Action, Soccer and Sports in general.
Spain’s government recently opened the country’s DTT platform to pay-TV, with just one entrant currently – Mediapro’s Gol TV soccer channel.
In the future the Spanish TV holding company for Mediaset's Telecinco and Sogecable's Cuatro will exclusively manage advertising on Sogecable's satellite pay-TV operator Digital+. Sogecable owner Prisa is thus losing control of the income source of the pay-TV operator in favour of Mediaset, having ceded to Telefónica the financial power.
In the first nine months of 2009, Digital+ pulled in €10.9 million in advertising. From next March on these revenues will be managed by Telecinco. Nevertheless the major advertising revenue stays with Cuatro –Sogecable's free-to-air channel saw revenues of €167.57 million to September 2009.
But the new holding company will have the benefit of 45.1% of the total Spanish TV advertising market, with the other proposed merger, of Grupo Planeta's Antena 3 and Mediapro's laSexta having 44.3% of the pie. Regional TV channels account for the remaining 12.5%.
According to a recent Telecinco study, after the national public broadcaster TVE quits the advertising market from next January (a new law forbids the public broadcaster from broadcasting commercials), 31.6% of the advertising market will be under Antena 3's control; 12.7% of it will be under the regional TV channels' control and the rest – 10.6% will be with laSexta. But since laSexta will join forces with Antena 3 for a joined TV holding the two of them will control 42.2% of Spain's advertising market.
Wit the arrival of the new holding company, Telecinco-Cuatro Spain will have the biggest commercial TV channel with an EBITDA of €130 million, yearly revenues of €952 million and costs of €822 million. On its side, Digital+ will generate an EBITDA of €351 million with sales of €1,381 million. Prisa will keep 57% of the pay-TV operator after having sold 22% to Mediaset and 21% to Telefónica.
© Rapid TV News 2009
