Telefonica buys 11.1% of Mediaset Premium

Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica has acquired an 11.1% stake in Italian media firm Mediaset's pay-TV business Mediaset Premium, for US$136 million.

July 7, 2014

Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica SA has acquired an 11.1% stake in Italian media firm Mediaset’s pay-TV business Mediaset Premium, in exchange for a cash injection of US$136 million.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Telefónica is the first suitor the Italian pay-TV business has courted to invest in the money-losing Mediaset Premium, with Al Jazeera and Vivendi also being mentioned as possible investors.

The agreement between Telefónica and Mediaset sports an equity value of US$1.23 billion in a new company that will hold Mediaset’s pay-TV business, and is the second agreement between the two media entities: just five days ago, Telefónica agreed to pay US$401 million for Mediaset’s 22% stake in Spanish pay-TV platform Digital Plus.

Mediaset Premium’s 2013 subscription revenue was US$750.6 million, up 6% from 2012. Advertising revenue was not disclosed.

January 22, 2020

People/Biz

History in the making: Inside the first 25 years of one of cable’s top brands

By Brendan Christie

January 22, 2020

Documentary

Realscreen opens call for MIPTV Picks submissions

By Realscreen Staff

January 16, 2020

Documentary

SXSW unveils 2020 documentary lineup

By Daniele Alcinii

January 15, 2020

TAGS:

Digital Plus, Mediaset Premium, Telefonica

About The Author

Daniele Alcinii is a news editor at realscreen, the leading international publisher of non-fiction film and television industry news and content. He joined the RS team in 2015 with experience in journalism following a stint out west with Sun Media in Edmonton's Capital Region, and with communications work in Melbourne, Australia and Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at @danielealcinii.

Website // Author Page