Chris Dziadul, July 11, 2024
United Group sale talk continues
The deadline for bids for United Group has apparently been extended from July 12 until the end of the month. News of the extension was reported by the Bulgarian publication Capital, quoting unnamed sources. United Group is the leading provider of electronic communications services in Southeast Europe and currently majority owned by BC Partners. Interested parties in United Group, which is valued at €8 billion, are believed to include e&, Apollo, Providence and Warburg Pincus.
Bulgarian market consolidates
Bulgaria’s Bulsatcom has officially merged with Vivacom and become part of United Group. United Group completed the acquisition of Bulsatcom in February this year after having received the approval of the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC). It was strongly opposed by Yettel Bulgaria and A1 Bulgaria, who argued that a merged Bulsatcom/Vivacom would account for over 50% of the country’s pay-TV market.
Eutelsat inks Warner Bros. Discovery deal
Poland’s TVN Warner Bros. Discovery has signed a new, multi-year transponder agreement with Eutelsat for capacity on the latter’s Hotbird video neighbourhood. Under the terms of the deal, TVN Warner Bros. Discovery will use the additional capacity to enhance services across its existing footprint as well as to support broadcast activities during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Part of the additional capacity will be used during the Games to distribute seven dedicated channels including a 4K UHD channel for the event.
TVP to restructure foreign language channels
The Polish public broadcaster TVP has announced plans to incorporate its two foreign language channels into a single structure. The first change will come into effect on September 1, with a new schedule on TVP World, which broadcasts in English. TVP World will also open two offices for permanent correspondents in Kyiv and Brussels. Meanwhile, TV Belsat will introduce separate Belarussian, Russian and Ukrainian language channels, each with their own brand. The newly created unit will be headed by Michal Broniatowski.
Revamp for Bulgaria’s Voyo
The streaming service Voyo has been revamped in Bulgaria. According to its operator bTV Media Group, which is owned by Central European Media Enterprises (CME), it now has “a new platform, a completely renewed design and new applications for mobile devices and Android TV.” Voyo gives users access to over 9,000 hours of video content of various genres, without ads and dubbed into Bulgarian. Voyo is available in two subscription plans, costing BGN8 (€4.09) a month or BGN67 a year.
TLC goes off the air in Belarus
The Warner Bros. Discovery channel TLC is no longer available in Belarus. According to incumbent telco Beltelecom, this follows the expiration of its licence, which was valid for the whole country. In a separate development, Alexey Ivanshin has been appointed the general director of Beltelecom. He was officially introduced to the company by Konstantin Shulgan, the Minister of Communications and Information.
Russian threatens Montenegro with retaliation
Russia has threatened to take retaliatory action against Montenegro for banning Russian broadcast media by July 10 at the latest. The ban covers 20 TV channels including Channel One, Rossiya 1, NTV, Sputnik and Ren TV and according to Maria Zaharova, the director of the information and press department at Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is “a hostile act of open censorship”. She added that it is “an attempt to retroactively legally formalise a situation that took shape in early 2022, when the Montenegrin authorities, without warning, blocked all Russian broadcasters in the country.” Montenegro’s Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) is threatening to fine any companies that fail to block Russian broadcasts between €1,000 and €40,000.
IPTV dominates in Moldova
Moldova ended the first quarter with a total of 681,724 pay-TV subscribers. According to the regulator ANRCETI this was up from the 666,703 posted at the end of 2023 but lower than the 729,832 in Q1 last year. As of the end of this March, a total of 149,900 pay-TV subscribers opted for cable and 531,800 IPTV, with the latter figure increasing by 11,200 over the previous three months. Pay-TV revenues in Q1 amounted to MDL113.2 million (€5.79 million), up 27.9% on the same period last year. Moldtelecom accounted for just over half (53.7%) of revenues, with TV Box claiming 20.8%, Orange Moldova 18.2% and other operators a combined 7.3%.
4iG to buy PR-Telecom
Hungary’s 4iG has agreed to buy the regional telco PR-Telecom for an undisclosed fee. The transaction, which is being undertaken by 4iG subsidiary Antenna Hungária, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. PR-Telecom provides cable TV, internet and telephony services in 10 counties and more than 200 settlements across the country, with its 3,400km-long network serving 250,000 households and 55,000 subscribers.
BBC Studios hires Marcin Boroszko
Marcin Boroszko has been appointed to the newly created role of director of ad sales, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at BBC Studios. Based in Warsaw and reporting to Bartosz Witak, general manager for CEE at BBC Studios, he will be responsible for developing and implementing innovative advertising sales strategies for the region and identifying new business opportunities across multiple platforms. Boroszko has over three decades of experience in the media industry and was most recently served on the Supervisory Board and Audit Committee of Kino Polska. He took up his new position at BBC Studios on July 1.
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© Chris Dziadul, 2024
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