France’s competition watchdog has removed the majority of restrictions placed on pay TV operator Canal+ originally imposed to greenlight its merger with TPS. This frees the operator up to strike exclusive premium channel deals with the likes ofBeIN Sports, as well as to retain exclusivity of series that it pre-finances. Citing the changing conditions of […]
France’s competition watchdog has rejected Vivendi-owned Canal+’s plan to become exclusive distributor of the BeIN Sports channels in the country, enabling it market a full complement of French football rights and other sports rights. The pay TVbroadcaster said that it would have to “work on other solutions to arrest the losses of the French Canal+ […]
Canal+ has confirmed it is to have an exclusive five-year distribution deal with beIN Sports, following weeks of speculation about such a deal. Canal+ said that the agreement would allow the two players to provide their customers with an improved offering at a time when the TV industry was facing the emergence of new global […]
Canal+ and rival pay TV provider beIN Sports have struck an exclusive distribution agreement that will see the Vivendi-owned operator become the sole distributor of the Qatar-owned service in France, according to French press reports. According to Le Monde, the pair have struck a deal that will see beIN Sports distributed exclusively by Canal+ and […]
Al Jazeera has acquired Turkish pay TV operator Digitürk via its BeIN Sports arm. Financial details of the acquisition were not released. Reports in April suggested that BeIN Sports was expected to pay between US$1 billion and US$1.2 billion for the operator. Digitürk, which holds top-tier Turkish football rights until the end of the 2016-17 […]
Spanish broadcast group Atresmedia will launch a new male-focused channel, Mega, on the country’s digital-terrestrial platform on July 1. The launch is possible thanks an agreement between Atresmedia and Barcelona-based group Mediapro. Mega will occupy the slot on the DTT platform previously taken by Mediapro’s Gol TV, which occupied the slot under a licence from Atresmedia […]
Piracy remains a major problem in the Middle East and North Africa, despite the many efforts to eradicate it. Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray showcases the latest data and forecasts relating to piracy and the wider pay TV market in the MENA region. According to the latest Digital TV Middle East & North […]
Unions representing employees of French pay TV operator Canal+ have threatened to take strike action on March 5 over layoffs and what they claim is an ongoing deterioration of working conditions, according to local reports. The CFDT, CFE-CGC and CGT unions are considering industrial action that could affect Canal+, free-to-air channels D8 and D17, call centres […]
Al Jazeera-owned BeIN Sports and pay TV operator Canal+ are to share French rights to UEFA Champions League football for the next three seasons. BeIN Sports has secured rights to air the best match from Tuesday nights, while Canal+ has secured first choice for Wednesdays. BeIN Sports will air the final, which will also be […]
US cable operator Time Warner Cable is adding live programming and video-on-demand outside the home to its apps for iPads and iPhones for the first time. The cable operator will offer selected video-on-demand and live programming from today, accessible over any WiFi connection. Over 1,100 hours of on-demand shows and movies from 26 networks and […]
