euro news2708_news 29/08/2015 09:09 Page 3
Liberty Global
increases ITV stake
iberty Global has acquired 138.7 million shares in UK
commercial broadcaster ITV plc, increasing its existing stake to
a total of 398.5m shares in ITV, 9.9%, but has played down any
interest in taking control.
CEO Mike Fries (right) said that given ITV’s operating and stock price
performance, Liberty Global was able to increase its stake to 9.9% with no
incremental investment by hedging its existing equity position. “This investment
remains an opportunistic one for us in our largest market. ITV is a well-run
company with attractive growth potential, and
we are pleased to increase our position as their
largest shareholder.”
In accordance with the UK Takeover Code,
Liberty Global confirmed that it did not intend
to make an offer to acquire ITV, but in
accordance with the City Code on Takeovers and
Mergers, it reserved the right to announce an
offer or possible offer or make or participate in
an offer or possible offer for ITV within six
months of the July 31 announcement.
Liberty Global first acquired shares in ITV from British Sky Broadcasting Group
(BSkyB) for some £481 (€683m) million in July 2104, giving it a 6.4% stake.
BSkyB acquired a then 17.9 per cent stake in ITV for £940m, thwarting plans by
NTL, later Virgin Media, to buy the broadcaster. Liberty Global acquired Virgin
Media for $23.3 billion in February 2013.
L
“ITV is a well-run
company and we
are pleased to
increase our
position as their
largest
shareholder.”
Magine TV goes beta
in UK
OTT TV platform Magine TV
has launched its beta
service in the UK, offering
‘TV For Me’: a subscriptionbased, personalised live TV
experience, streamed
directly with no cables,
hardware or contracts.
Its launch follows that of
TVPlayer, Simplestream’s OTT
streaming platform, which in
addition to a range of free-to-air
services, recently announced
the launch of a ‘mini-pay’
package, TVPlayer Plus.
10 EUROMEDIA
Also available in its native
Sweden and Germany, Magine
TV plans to offer UK
audiences a clean, legal
online TV service, having
entered into OTT distribution
agreements with major
broadcast partners including
ITV, Channel 4, and Channel
5, with more to follow.
By working with the TV
industry, Magine TV says it
operates with the content
providers’ cooperation and is
a part of broadcasters’
broader strategic
digital future, helping
to maintain the
industry value chain
and ensuring
the longevity
and quality of
the service it
can provide. It
says this model
of working with the industry
has proved successful in both
Sweden and Germany, where
relationships with partners
such as ProSiebenSat.1, RTL,
Discovery, Turner, Viacom
and Eurosport continue to
flourish. In Germany, Magine
TV has over 1.5 million
registered users.
Magine TV can be
streamed to any device
through intuitive apps for
iOS, Android and Windows,
offering a streamlined,
personalised TV experience
in one place, without the
need for switching between
apps and websites.
Magine TV says it draws
on Ofcom data which shows
that 69 per cent of all
content (viewed across all
devices) in the UK is watched
live – including 50 per cent of
all shows watched by 16 – 24
year olds, who each watch an
average of 148 minutes of TV
per day. Catch-up is available
on certain channels within
Magine TV, with more
content to be added.
Research reveals that
audiences are sick of
scrolling, channel surfing and
searching through live
content, and Magine TV
caters to those who have a
desire to curate and make
sense of the wealth of
content available to them.
Throughout the beta phase,
Magine TV will work in
response to user feedback on
its product, enhance the
personalisation within it, and
ensure that the platform will
ultimately offer UK
consumers the service that
they want and need.
According to Ambuj Goyal,
CEO of Magine TV, the shared
experience of live television
is electrifying, and Magine
TV’s single-minded focus on
innovation in this space sets
it apart from other video
streaming services. “We
believe that there will always
be an important place for live
TV in the entertainment
industry,” he added