the outstanding 50 % shareholding in digital

entertainment company Super RTL , having

signed a binding agreement with its current joint

venture partner , BVI Television Investments ,

Inc ., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company .

This will take RTL Group ’ s shareholding in Super

competition authorities .

RTL to 100 %.

The transaction

is subject to

approval from

the German

and Austrian

The full acquisition of Super RTL will support

the growth plan for the RTL streaming service ,

TV Now . The transaction is another step in RTL

Group ’ s strategy to consolidate across its existing

European broadcasting footprint . In 2019 , RTL

Group ’ s French broadcasting business , Groupe

M6 , completed the acquisition of the country ’ s

leading free-TV channel for children , Gulli , and

five pay-TV channels from Lagardère . Most

recently , RTL Group acquired the outstanding

shareholdings in RTL Belgium ’ s TV and radio

businesses , taking its ownership in RTL Belgium

to 100 %.

Super RTL was founded in 1995 as a 50 / 50

joint venture between RTL Group and The Walt

Disney Company . With its umbrella brands ,

Toggo and Toggolino , Super RTL has successfully

developed into a digital entertainment company ,

distributing its content via linear TV channels ,

the RTL streaming service TV Now , digital radio

and a variety of apps and websites . In addition ,

Super RTL operates a growing merchandising

business .

French broadcasters win piracy damages

A French court has ordered five defendants

to pay € 7 million in damages to French

broadcasters beIN Sports , Canal + and RMC

Sport , following the defendants ’ convictions

for operating illegal sports streaming websites

targeting the broadcasters .

The multi-million Euro damages award is

one of the largest financial rulings issued by

a French court following a piracy conviction

and has been widely welcomed by the

industry as an emphatic sign that piracy will

be prosecuted and sanctioned heavily by

the courts . The convictions were obtained

thanks to years of

investigative work

by the police and a

specialised court in

Rennes , supported

by beIN and the

other broadcasters ’

legal and anti-piracy

teams .

The five

defendants , who

operated the illegal sports streaming websites

from 2014 to 2018 , targeted beIN , Canal +

and RMC Sport for their breadth of premium

content – including piracy of the UEFA

Champions League , Ligue 1 , Ligue 2 , English

Premier League and other European leagues .

The broadcasters pay millions of Euros every

year to leagues and federations for the rights

to broadcast these matches , which funds

and underpins the entire sports ecosystem

in France – from the professional leagues to grassroots sport . This investment in sport is increasingly under threat in France as a result of rising piracy levels – particularly during the pandemic .

“ This judgment sends a vital message across France that courts will have zero tolerance for piracy or its perpetrators ,” declared Yousef Al-Obaidly , CEO of beIN Media Group and president of beIN Sports France . “ beIN has been leading the industry in the anti-piracy fight both in France and globally – we have warned against the worsening pandemic of piracy for years . The reason for this is simple – the value of media rights and , in turn , investment in sport in France will continue to fall unless the industry wakes up and takes action to protect intellectual property .”

The case before the Rennes Criminal Court found that the “ galaxy of sites ” operated by the convicted men attracted more than 7.5 million unique visitors alone from 2014 to 2017 . According to beIN SPORTS , the “ exceptional ” decision must not obscure the fact that pirates can still anonymously operate illegal streaming websites and IPTV apps in France and around the world , and that it ’ s too difficult to take legal action against them .

Alongside legal action against the pirates , beIN SPORTS called for fast , sharp and efficient enforcement measures to be taken by online intermediary services providers – at the EU and national level – to tackle online piracy of sporting events , as well as due diligence checks on the identity of their clients .

Britbox on Prime Video Channels

SVoD service BritBox - the

joint venture between ITV

and BBC - is to join the

Amazon Prime Video

Channels platform and be

available to Prime members

in the UK with an add-on

subscription in spring 2021 .

BritBox UK will now be easily

accessible on over 40m

devices , some 90 % of UK

video-on-demand accessible

homes .

Prime Video Channels

allows Prime members to

add-on channel subscriptions through Prime Video for a monthly fee , available individually without the need to sign up to a bundle or contract .

“ We are excited to bring the very best British entertainment to an even wider audience through Amazon Prime Video Channels , especially as we launch even more original content in the spring ,

summer and beyond ,” declared Will Harrison , BritBox UK ’ s managing director .

“ It ’ s great that we ’ re going to be offering UK Prime members access to the biggest British box sets with the addition of BritBox on Prime Video Channels ,” added Julian Monaghan , director of Amazon Prime Video Channels Europe . “ BritBox is a great addition to our selection of entertainment

on Prime Video Channels , giving customers even more choice to find the TV series they love .”

BritBox UK will be available to Prime members for an additional monthly fee , via the Prime Video app to watch anytime , anywhere on smart TVs , mobile devices , and game consoles .

BritBox joins Prime Video Channels ’ line-up of over 70 channels in the UK including live and on-demand entertainment and sports that are available as individual subscriptions .

8 EUROMEDIA