Premiere to rebrand its 'Premiere Sky' satellite service

[BGonaSTICK]

German pay TV group Premiere is to rebrand its Premiere Sky satellite service Premiere Star after being sued by BSkyB over its use of the name Sky.

A Berlin district court ruled in June 2007 that the platform's original title violated the trademark protection of BSkyB's own name, saying it would cause confusion. Although Premiere initially said it would appeal, the new name will allow the service to start as planned in September.

Premiere Star will initially offer subscribers 15 channels, some not currently available over satellite, such as Turner Broadcasting System's Boomerang, Cartoon Network and Turner Movie Classics.

The service’s MD Wolfram Winter has meanwhile confirmed that Premiere is considering listing the unit in about two years. “A public offering is our preferred option,” Winter told the FT Deutschland, adding that Premiere Star could have some 400,000 subscribers by then, with sales of more than €200 million.

Winter’s comments came as reports emerged that banking group Unicredito's German unit HVB had acquired a 10 per cent stake in Premiere Star for an undisclosed sum, but thought to be more than €10 million. “Premiere bridges a gap in the market. Its business concept is convincing and offers a good perspective for sustainable success,” HVB executive Ronald Seilheimer said in a statement.