Canal+ & ITI Combine Polish Pay-TV Operations

PARIS/LUXEMBOURG/WARSAW: France’s Canal+ has firmed up a deal to merge its Polish pay-TV service, Cyfra+, with ITI Group’s pay-TV platform businesses in Poland.

Canal+ also gets an option to take over Polish broadcaster TVN. The combination of Cyfra+ and TVN’s ‘n’ creates a new DTH platform that will have a combined base of around 2.5 million customers by the end of 2011. The new operation will be run by Marcus Tellenbach and Beata Monka.

Canal+ will own 51 percent of the new pay-TV company, while TVN Group and UPC own 32 percent and 17 percent, respectively. ITI Group has the option to sell an additional 9-percent stake in N-Vision to Canal+ Group, in two years following signing of this agreement.

Bertrand Meheut, the CEO of Canal+ Group, said: “We are extremely proud to announce the creation under Canal+ Group’s leadership of a leading pay-TV platform, backed by a strong partnership with Poland’s most prominent media Group, TVN. This is a major step in the evolution of CANAL+ Group. It further internationalises our business, strengthens our strategic position in Poland and reinvigorates our growth profile."

Bruno Valsangiacomo, the executive chairman and a founding shareholder of ITI Group, commented: “We have conducted our negotiations with a true spirit of cooperation and I am convinced that we have taken the right decision to partner with Canal+ Group, thereby creating additional long-term value for all stakeholders in both ITI Group and TVN. This strategic partnership is not only based around a strong business rationale by combining our respective Polish pay-TV operations, but is also a logical strategic step for the ITI Group to secure continuity in the leadership of our business and meeting the demands of the Polish consumers and advertisers as well as the challenges of new technologies.”

Markus Tellenbach, the CEO of TVN, added: “This merger lays the foundation for future growth and enormous value creation. Together with Canal+ Group we open a new chapter for our shareholders and I look forward to creating the best-in-class management team that will successfully drive the new merged company to a leading position in the highly competitive Polish media landscape.”

Beata Monka, CEO of Cyfra+, said: “We are very excited at the prospect of bringing together Cyfra+ and ‘n.’ Both platforms show very complementary competencies, in terms of content, marketing and technological know-how. This will benefit customers by making their choice simpler in one of the most competitive pay-TV markets in Europe.”