November 27, 2005
The French television companies in talks over a “combination” are studying two possible structures for uniting France’s rival satellite TV providers and take on the threat from telecoms groups.Vivendi Universal, the media group that has a majority stake in the Canal Sat operator, is trying to agree terms with TF1 and M6, the television groups that own TPS, the rival satellite platform, in a deal due to be concluded before Christmas.The first structure would see TF1 and M6 take stakes in Canal Plus, Vivendi’s wholly owned subsidiary, and fold TPS into the whole. The second would involve the creation of a new company.In either case, Canal Plus would hold a controlling stake but the division of equity is yet to be agreed.Patrick Le Lay, TF1 chief executive, has previously resisted the merger of the two groups.Observers believe the growing threat of competition from telecoms groups offering “triple play” – television, internet and telephone over broadband – has forced the company to reconsider.Belgacom, the Belgian telecoms operator, won rights to Belgian football earlier this year. Vivendi and TPS are concerned that telecoms companies in France will begin to fight fiercely for key content such as football and films.“A merger would be fantastic news,” said Nick Bertolotti, analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston. “It would solve this miserable situation of cut-throat war in French pay TV.”Analysts estimated potential savings for marketing, programming, transmission and overheads at €250m-€500m ($299m-$598m). The competition between the two satellite TV providers has kept their operating margins at about 5 per cent compared with about 20 per cent for BSkyB in the UK. Mr Bertolotti said a merged group could hope to end up just below BSkyB’s level.After the structure has been resolved, the companies will concentrate on preparing their case for an expected antitrust probe. They hope the competition from telecoms companies that has spurred the deal will act as their defence against antitrust charges.Every stakeholder in the deal saw its shares jump on Monday. Vivendi rose 3.5 per cent €26.00, TF1 rose 8 per cent to €23.91 and M6 rose 4 per cent to €23.76.Source : FT
Canal + and TPS to merge
byThe French television companies in talks over a “combination” are studying two possible structures for uniting France’s rival satellite TV providers and take on the threat from telecoms groups.Vivendi Universal, the media group that has a majority stake in the Canal Sat operator, is trying to agree terms with TF1 and M6, the television groups that own TPS, the rival satellite platform, in a deal due to be concluded before Christmas.The first structure would see TF1 and M6 take stakes in Canal Plus, Vivendi’s wholly owned subsidiary, and fold TPS into the whole. The second would involve the creation of a new company.In either case, Canal Plus would hold a controlling stake but the division of equity is yet to be agreed.Patrick Le Lay, TF1 chief executive, has previously resisted the merger of the two groups.Observers believe the growing threat of competition from telecoms groups offering “triple play” – television, internet and telephone over broadband – has forced the company to reconsider.Belgacom, the Belgian telecoms operator, won rights to Belgian football earlier this year. Vivendi and TPS are concerned that telecoms companies in France will begin to fight fiercely for key content such as football and films.“A merger would be fantastic news,” said Nick Bertolotti, analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston. “It would solve this miserable situation of cut-throat war in French pay TV.”Analysts estimated potential savings for marketing, programming, transmission and overheads at €250m-€500m ($299m-$598m). The competition between the two satellite TV providers has kept their operating margins at about 5 per cent compared with about 20 per cent for BSkyB in the UK. Mr Bertolotti said a merged group could hope to end up just below BSkyB’s level.After the structure has been resolved, the companies will concentrate on preparing their case for an expected antitrust probe. They hope the competition from telecoms companies that has spurred the deal will act as their defence against antitrust charges.Every stakeholder in the deal saw its shares jump on Monday. Vivendi rose 3.5 per cent €26.00, TF1 rose 8 per cent to €23.91 and M6 rose 4 per cent to €23.76.Source : FT
November 1, 2005
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Forum Rules
byThe Ten Commandments 1.) No Keys! 2.) No Hex Files! 3.) No Patches! 4.) No Firmware! 5.) No Emulators! 6.) No advertising of any sort. 7.) No flaming, abuse or foul language. 8.) No muppets or trolls. 9.) No soliciting for card-shares. 10.) No more rules. Two stikes and you're out. Live links are allowed, but not to other forums, live executables, or anything listed in rules 1 - 5. This is an English language forum. Please post in English, or you can expect your posts to be either edited or deleted. This forum will be kept legal at all times. Thanks for your attention!
Welcome
byWelcome to Satellite Help! You are a valued visitor. Have fun, and please read the simple rules before posting on the Satellite TV Forum. Regards, SH
