tv everywhere_news 21/04/2015 20:33 Page 5
Vivendi moves on
Dailymotion control
ominant French telco Orange
and and content and media
group Vivendi have entered
exclusive negotiations for Vivendi to take
an 80% stake in Dailymotion for €217m.
This corresponds to an enterprise value
for Dailymotion of €265m, Orange will
retain a 20% stake in the company.
For Orange this fits the Group’s ambition to
bring Dailymotion together with a strategic,
content-focused partner that is capable of
giving it the means to accelerate its growth and
to turn it into one of the world’s largest content
distribution platforms.
For Vivendi, the acquisition of 80% of
Dailymotion’s capital represents an important
step forward in its
effort to create a
global group and
French champion in
the media and
content industries.
It enables Vivendi
to derive significant
value from its content and to hold a controlling
stake in a global distribution platform. The
D
numerous opportunities for collaboration
between Dailymotion and Vivendi assets such
as Universal Music Group and Groupe Canal+
can be deployed rapidly in a way that will
accelerate and reinforce Vivendi’s worldwide
presence.
Stéphane Richard,
Chairman and CEO of Orange,
said: “Orange has supported the
development of Dailymotion
since 2011 as the company has
increased its audience by 2.5
times and grown it into one of
Europe’s biggest success stories in the digital
domain. Our partnership with Vivendi will
This is a first step in
our ambition to create
a large, global group
that is focused on
media and content.
Virgin extends
TiVo deal
UK cable MSO Virgin Media
has extended its existing
five-year partnership with
TiVo for a further three
years. As part of the new
agreement, Virgin Media
has committed to the
development of nextgeneration solutions from
TiVo.
Virgin Media launched the
first set-top box
incorporating TiVo software
in 2010. Since launch, it has
installed TiVo enabled set-top
boxes in
more
than 2.5
million homes. The platform
brought together broadcast
TV, thousands of hours of on
10 TV Everywhere
demand programming and
the best of the web in a
single set-top box. In 2012,
Virgin Media launched its
Virgin TV Anywhere service
which underpinned the
seamless experience for TV
viewers.
Gregor McNeil, Virgin
Media’s chief operating
officer, said it continued to
lead the UK market in
bringing together the
broadest choice of
programming along with the
best way to access it.
David Sandford, VP and
GM of TiVo’s international
operator business, said that
Virgin Media had been
among its most innovative
customers, successfully
deploying TiVo and
leveraging its integration of
linear, VOD and OTT content
sources to create an
unmatched offering in the
UK. “TiVo is proud to serve
Virgin Media with critical
enable Dailymotion, in which we remain a 20
per cent shareholder, to accelerate its growth
internationally and to enhance its content
offer.”
Vincent Bolloré, Chairman of Vivendi’s
Supervisory Board, described the acquisition of
80% of Dailymotion’s capital as “an
excellent opportunity” that would
provide the group with added reach in
the diffusion of high-quality musical
and audiovisual content across the
world. “We are particularly
enthusiastic at the idea of supporting
Dailymotion in this important new
phase of their development as the
company evolves into a reference
global platform. This is a first step in
our ambition to create a large, global
group that is focused on media and content. In
addition, this operation illustrates our capacity
to develop international strategic partnerships,
in particular with Orange.”
Orange has held 100% of Dailymotion since
January 2013, following its initial acquisition of
49% of the company’s capital in April 2011.
Dailymotion is the second largest
aggregation and distribution platform in the
world, with over 2.5 billion videos seen per
month. The company registered sales of €64m
in 2014, a figure that has increased by 30%
every year since 2012. It employs 222 people,
based mainly in France and the United States of
America.
solutions in a challenging
and competitive landscape,
helping to drive revenue
growth and material gains in
customer satisfaction,” he
added.
Netflix plans anti-VPN
global content
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings
has suggested that
introducing global content
will disincentivise would-be
subscribers from using
virtual private networks
(VPNs) to access different
versions of the service.
Speaking to Gizmodo
Australia – in a territory
where it has been suggested
there are are as m [