Vivendi


Vice confirms Vivendi’s Delport as int’l chief

Vice has confirmed that it has appointed former Vivendi Content head Dominique Delport as its president of international and chief revenue officer. News first emerged of the company’s intentions to hire Delport earlier this month. It has now been confirmed that Delport will report directly to Nancy Dubuc, who recently moved over to Vice as […]

Vivendi offloads Ubisoft stake as Tencent lands

European media giant Vivendi has sold off its stakeholding in Assassin’s Creed games studio Ubisoft for nearly US$2.5 billion, with Chinese tech monolith Tencent among the new shareholders. The deal sees Vivendi selling all 30.5 million of its shares – 27.3% of the entire business – for €2 billion (US$2.45 billion) to various investors. These […]

Vice set to hire Vivendi Content chief

Vice Media is close to naming Vivendi Content chief Dominique Delport as its international chief, charged with leading the company’s expansion in international markets. Variety first reported that Delport was in advanced negotiations to join Vice, reporting to recently appointed CEO Nancy Dubuc when she takes over the chief executive role from Shane Smith. According […]

Activist investor wants Vivendi off TIM board

US activist investor Elliott Management has formally submitted a request to Telecom Italia (TIM) to include a proposal to remove Vivendi-nominated members from the telco’s board when TIM shareholders meet on April 24. Elliott has called for six directors – TIM chairman Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Hervé Philippe, Frédéric Crépin, Giuseppe Recchi, Félicité Herzog and Anna […]

Volume of TV prodco M&A doubled in four years – IHS

Mergers and acquisitions in the television production space more than doubled between 2013 and 2017 as companies scramble for IP ownership, according to new research. IHS Markit data found that TV prodco M&A activity increased from 42 international deals in 2013 to 102 deals in 2017. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 19.4%, […]

Vivendi-Mediaset rapprochement expected ‘within days’

Vivendi could strike a deal in the next few days to end its legal dispute with Mediaset and forge a new content partnership involving Telecom Italia, according to press reports. According to Agefi-Dow Jones, citing an unnamed source, a three-way agreement involving Mediaset, Telecom Italia and either Vivendi or Canal+ is on the cards. A […]

Vivendi’s mobile SVOD net Studio+ set for US

France’s Vivendi is launching its smartphone-targeted SVOD service Studio+ to the US. The service, which offers customers a slate of 10x10mins high-end original short-form series, will debut Stateside with new music drama All You Need is Me and thriller series Hadame Hollywood. Studio+ is the result of collaboration between Vivendi’s Canal+ and Universal Music divisions, […]

Canal+ formalises Telecom Italia JV

Canal+ has created its planned joint venture with Telecom Italia (TIM), focusing on the acquisition and production of movies and series that will enable Telecom Italia to develop a compelling pay TV offering for the Italian market. In addition to movies and series, the JV will also be tasked with acquiring sports rights. TIM will […]

Ampere: media giants’ debts are manageable

Debt levels at media giants such as Netflix and Sky are less significant than those of the doomed internet companies of the dot com bubble, according to a new study. The high levels of debt being incurred by the likes of Amazon, Altice and Verizon as well as significant regional players such as Sky, ITV […]

Vivendi keeps its cool as police raid Paris offices

Vivendi has maintained that it will find a way out of its current impasse with Mediaset after police raided its Paris offices yesterday following a request by Italy. French police accompanied by representatives of Italy’s financial police, the Guardia di Finanza, searched Vivendi’s HQ in Paris for evidence pertaining to the Milan-based investigation into possible […]