Majority owned by BC Partners since 2019, it has recently undergone rapid expansion and is today a leading provider of multiplay services across the region.

Results released by the group for the first nine months of this year are a good indication of its progress and offer insights as to how it may develop in the future.

Firstly, they show that it made a net profit of €454.6 million during the period compared to a loss of €148.9 million in Q1-Q3 2022. This was in large part down to the sale of its tower business in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia to TAWAL, a subsidiary of MENA-based stc Group.

Secondly, they highlight the importance of Bulgaria in its operations and how its standing will be boosted still further if the group manages to close the controversial acquisition of Bulsatcom. In the first nine months of this year, Vivacom Bulgaria, which includes its cable, mobile and DTH services in the country, was already the second best performing in revenue terms. Coming in at €473.6 million, or 23% of the total, it was only behind Nova Greece (€610.2 million, 30%) and over double that of third placed Telemach Slovenia (€216.5 million, 11%).

Thirdly, they give subscriber figures that pinpoint where growth is strongest and – in some instances – much less so. For instance, its cable pay-TV and broadband internet RGU totals were up 7% and 10% respectively in the first nine months of this year compared to 2022. On the other hand, DTH pay-TV and OTT totals were down 1% and up 1% respectively. Overall, the group gained 391,000 RGUs over the year, with the total increasing by 3% to 15,959,000.

Last but not least, the results show that United Group remains very much focussed on acquisitions. Indeed, it says it “continually monitors M&A opportunities and is currently in the early stages of evaluating multiple potential opportunities”.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

]]> 217723 https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2023/11/24/chris-dziadul-reports-focus-on-polands-mwe-networks/ Fri, 24 Nov 2023 10:45:19 +0000 https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/?p=217552 While MWE Networks does not have the stature of Polsat Plus Group or TVN Warner Bros. Discovery, it is undoubtedly an important player in Poland’s TV industry.

Founded in 2008 by the entrepreneur Michal Winnicki, it has grown over the years and currently boasts a portfolio of 13 thematic TV channels including Antena HD, Power TV, Nuta.TV, Ultra TV 4K and Adventure. In addition, it operates three local terrestrial TV multiplexes (MUX-L1, MUX-L3 and MUX-L4), along with an experimental multiplex (MUX-MWE) the future of which is currently being analysed by the company.

MWE Networks is planning more thematic channel launches, with Junior Channel set to make its debut in January 2024 and Pogoda24, which will cover weather, next spring. No date has yet been set for the shopping channel Zakupy24, though it is known that all three will be distributed by cable and MWE’s local multiplexes.

In October 2022 it was reported that MWE Networks’ future plans included entering the Warsaw Stock Exchange early this year, acquiring a number of cable networks and launching its own OTT service. Although none of these appear to have materialised, in June it acquired 100% of shares in Golf Zone, the company which broadcasts Golf Channel Polska, and was able to add the first sports channel to its portfolio.

MWE Networks has for some time been focused on expanding to other markets and already has a presence in the Czech Republic and Lithuania. Its recent failure to secure a second slot on the first national multiplex MUX 1 seems to have speeded up its plans for future expansion, both geographically and in new business areas.

To that effect, it was announced this week that it will be moving its headquarters to Cyprus. At the same time, Michal Winnicki will focus on developing the company in entertainment and technology while handing the running of its TV and media business to other executives.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

If its recently announced acquisition of Bulsatcom receives regulatory approval, it will become a dominant player in the pay-TV sector, accounting for around 60% of subscribers.

BC Partners-owned United Group entered Bulgaria with the acquisition of the incumbent telco Vivacom (BTC) during a period of rapid expansion when it also bought assets in Croatia (Tele2) and Greece (Forthnet). Shortly afterwards it also secured Nova Group, one of Bulgaria’s two leading commercial broadcasters, as well as a number of smaller interests including the local TV and internet operators Net1 and ComNet.

While the acquisitions of Vivacom and Nova Group aroused little controversy, heralding the arrival of another major foreign investor in Bulgaria – CME, now owned by PPF Group, and A1 were already well established – Bulsatcom will almost certainly be another proposition. Indeed, a year ago the Bulgarian entrepreneur Spas Rusev bought Bulsatcom for a reported €120-130 million, having beaten off competition from PPF Group. He did so with a loan from United Group and had connections with the latter, having previously been a shareholder in Vivacom. Not long afterwards United Group acquired Bulsatcom’s mobile towers for €3 million set off the loan.

In March this year PPF Group’s Yettel Bulgaria called on the regulator CPC to stop the sale of Bulsatcom’s key assets to United Group. Four months latter both PPF Group’s PPF Telecom and A1 Group and its Bulgarian subsidiary strongly criticised CPC’s decision to authorise Vivacom’s acquisition of Networks-Bulgaria and several smaller operators on the grounds that it would lead to market concentration.

The scene is now set for even more confrontation, with both PPF Group and A1 likely to strongly oppose United Group’s acquisition of Bulsatcom on the grounds that it will seriously limit competition and customer choice. However, their appeals to the CPC, as has previously been the case, may well fall on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, for United Group the acquisition of Bulsatcom will be “another important stage” of its “activity in Bulgaria, a key market for our growth strategy”.

The company also reaffirms its “commitment to offer Bulgarian consumers the best quality products and services and will continue to invest in infrastructure, technology and content”.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

]]> 217381 https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2023/11/10/chris-dziadul-reports-eutelsats-russian-shift/ Fri, 10 Nov 2023 10:29:25 +0000 https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/?p=217218 A new satellite bouquet offering independent news and information to Russian language speakers could be on air before the end of the year.

An unprecedented development, it will be the result of a so far little-publicised agreement signed on November 7 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), whose stated mission is “to act for the freedom, pluralism and independence of journalism and those who embody these ideals”, and the satellite operator Eutelsat.

The idea behind ‘Svoboda’, which means freedom in Russian, was originated by the Denis Diderot Committee, a collective founded by media experts to promote the free flow of information and counter war propaganda. It has been particularly active since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and works closely with RSF.

Although we at this stage have few details about Svoboda other than it will offer “news programmes to offer a comprehensive and objective view of global events”, it is safe to assume its target audience will be viewers living throughout what was the former Soviet Union. Aside from Russia itself, this will include Belarus, the Baltics, Ukraine and the stans. Most probably, it will be blocked by the authorities in at least some of these countries ­– certainly Russia and Belarus – and promoted in others, especially the Baltics.

Its appearance will certainly be a welcome development for those seeking to provide Russian language speakers with a more balanced view of world affairs than that current offered by Russian media. It will also mark a major success for the Denis Diderot Committee and, just as significantly, a shift at Eutelsat, which was initially reluctant to cease distributing Russian-operated services on its satellites and, quite probably, offer ones such as Svoboda.

However, as the Denis Diderot Committee points out, “much remains to be done to prevent the satellite capacities of European satellite operators from being used by media controlled by non-democratic regimes or organisations”.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

While a bold statement and possibly an exaggeration, it is certainly worth a closer look.

Tricolor Ultra, which it launched at the beginning of this month, is described as a “large scale broadcasting project” on the Russian Express-AT1 satellite at 56 degrees East. Its main significance, according to Tricolor, is that it provides “exceptional safety” from outside interference.

Put simply, given the satellite’s Russian ownership, it is less likely be affected by sanctions imposed on Russian satellite-delivered TV services. It will also be less vulnerable to alleged actions by a neighbouring state, namely Ukraine.

Tricolor says that it had to make drastic decisions to maintain the quality of its product. Besides investing in a new teleport in Siberia, it now has at its disposal 20 transponders with a capacity of almost 700 MHz. This will allow it to operate Tricolor Ultra, offering viewers over 300 channels, a third of which will be in HD and Ultra HD.

Significantly, interference attacks on Russian satellite TV services have reportedly been taking place since the beginning of the year. This summer Tricolor undertook a study in which it asked subscribers what they believed the causes of these were and over 50% of respondents cited “external attacks”, with the second reason being “problems with the satellite”. It then went on to advise those living in Kaliningrad, which borders on Poland and the Baltic states, to switch to Express AT-1.

There are of course other pay-TV operators in Russia besides Tricolor and it now remains to be seen what actions, if any, will be taken by the likes of MTS and the Orion Group of companies.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

Putting this to one side, how well is the company, and specifically its TV business, performing across Central and Eastern Europe? Orange’s latest results paint something of a mixed picture. In Romania, for instance, it ended the third quarter with 1.2 million subscribers to its cable and DTH services. This was unchanged on the second quarter but down from 1.4 million a year earlier. Meanwhile in Poland, it lost 27,000 cable and DTH subscribers over the same period and in Slovakia its total was unchanged at 190,000. Although Orange has not provided figures for Moldova, its Q3 TV subscriber total is estimated at just under 100,000.

Orange’s TV business in Romania was significantly expanded by the acquisition of Telekom Romania’s fixed-line operation. The subsequent decline in its subscribers can at least in part be explained by the saturation of the country’s pay-TV market, which according to the regulator ANCOM had 7.85 million subscribers at the end of 2022. Year-on-year, there was a significant fall in satellite TV reception and modest growth in cable, with IPTV barely registering.

In Poland, on the other hand, Orange lost no fewer than 100,000 DTH subscribers in the year to June 30, ending the second quarter with 69,000. With the company’s focus now very much on IPTV – the total rose by 73,000 to 867,000 over the same period – this was perhaps not so surprising.

In Slovakia, Orange says that its TV subscriber total encompasses FTTx TV, DTH, xDSL TV and OTT TV, including multiscreen accesses. Although the Q3 total was unchanged on a year earlier, it was overshadowed by disappointing figures in other areas of the company’s business, including a 2.2% reduction in mobile customers.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

Several bodies including the International Press Institute (IPI) and Serbia’s Coalition for Media Freedom have recently released statements critical of the laws, which they believe run counter to the previously agreed media strategy adopted by the government in 2020.

In their view, the draft versions of the Law on Public Information and Media and the Law on Electronic Media, if adopted, would first and foremost block reforms at the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) and pave the way for the return to full state ownership of private media.

REM is in many quarters seen as an ineffective regulator, lacking in independence and making politically motivated decisions. It faced strong criticism last year for the manner in which it re-awarded national TV licences to four broadcasters supportive of the government and it is argued that the draft Law on Electronic Media would reinforce political control of the body.

The bodies also believe that the proposed Law on Public Information and Media would fail to legally ensure all media meet ethical standards to receive public co-financing funding. In their view, this could disadvantage media that abide by professional standards.

Furthermore, they highlight the fact that both draft laws essentially allow for the return to state co-ownership of private media. This is not allowed under current legislation and could have far-reaching consequences for the incumbent telco Telekom Srbija, which is currently 58.11% owned by the state, with the Treasury holding a further 20% of shares. It is argued that the telco already owns media interests – either directly or indirectly – against existing regulations and the draft laws would legitimise its actions.

Ultimately, the draft laws run counter to the Serbian government’s media strategy, which was formulated with the help of media organisations and civil society. The strategy was also endorsed by the EU, and Serbia is doing itself no favours in its accession bid.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

Earlier this month the Security Services of Ukraine (SSU) announced that Kyivstar, the country’s largest mobile operator, was one of 20 companies from across several industries to have had their assets seized by the authorities. Kyivstar responded shortly afterwards by dismissing press reports about the “seizure of 100%” of its assets, adding that only its corporate rights had been taken and this did not affect its operational activities.

At the same time, the Dutch-registered company Veon, which is the 100% owner of Kyivstar, announced that it had closed the sale of its Russian operations and was no longer present in the country. It also issued a detailed explanation – and indeed rebuttal – of press reports about Kyivstar.

This was to the effect that the three individuals whose corporate rights had been seized – Mikhail Fridman, Peter Aven and Andrei Kosogov – do not own any shares in Veon or Kyivstar. Kyivstar, according to Veon, had also incorrected been linked to Fridman in reports saying that Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice is finalising a lawsuit to confiscate his assets in the country.
Fridman is a Ukrainian-born, Russian-Israeli oligarch who founded Alfa Group and subsequently the international investment company LetterOne. He was on the supervisory board of directors at Veon before being sanctioned by the EU in 2022.

Despite the statements by Kyivstar and Veon, local reports about the former’s fate refuse to go away. Some say that it could be nationalised or broken up and sold on to other companies if an ownership link with Fridman can be proved.

Looking at the bigger picture, Ukraine is in a state of war and making efforts to align the framework under which its media industry operates with that of the EU. Ownership of key media assets by oligarchs, as has until now been the case, is incompatible with this aim.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

Only a few days ago Estonia-based Levira announced that it had, along with Rohde & Schwarz, demonstrated 5G capabilities for public safety. Part of a crisis training exercise known as CREVEX 2023, this was the first time in the country that alarm and emergency information was sent to smartphones using 5G Broadcast.

Elsewhere in the region, the Czech national transmission company CRA began a second phase of testing 5G Broadcast technology in May, employing the Prague Zizkov and Strahov transmitters. The first phase, undertaken last year, used only the former, and in each case the tests have involved distributing TV channels and been limited to experimental receivers.

Meanwhile in Croatia, the national transmission company OiV announced last year that it would begin testing 5G Broadcast in cooperation with a number of parties and employing its locations in Sljeme and Sveta Nedjelja. However, there has since been no indication as to when the tests will start.

In Russia, the Gazprom-Media TV channel NTV undertook the country’s first live 5G Broadcast in June 2021, working in partnership with MegaFon. In Poland, on the other hand, there has as yet not been any 5G Broadcast trial.

There is clearly a desire to move forward with 5G Broadcast and three months ago a group of (West) European broadcasters – France Télévisions (France), RAI (Italy), SWR, BR (Germany), NPO (Netherlands), RTÉ (Ireland) and ORF/OTS (Austria) – signed an MoU to work together assessing the feasibility of the technology. The agreement will result in the joint development of 5G Broadcast applications and commercial use cases and their presentation around the Summer 2024 Olympics in Paris and UEFA European Championship in Germany.

It is probably only a matter of time before some of their counterparts in CEE also become involved in the introduction of 5G Broadcast.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com

Although it had been present in the country for some time, providing mobile services as an MVNO, its local subsidiary Digi Spain Telecom upped the ante in September 2018 by launching commercial fixed broadband and fixed telephony offers employing Telefónica’s infrastructure.

Digi’s focus on Spain and other West European markets – Italy and more recently also Belgium and Portugal – increased still further following its exit from Hungary, where it sold its assets, including pay-TV and broadband businesses, to 4iG at the beginning of 2022.

As of the end of June this year, it had 4.3 million mobile customers in Spain, or 25% more than a year earlier. Three months earlier, its fibre network reportedly already reached 6.5 million homes, with over 5 million capable of receiving broadband of up to 10 Gbps.

Significantly, also in March this year, the investment fund abrdn signed an agreement with Digi Spain Telecom to jointly invest up to €300 million in deploying a fibre network in Andalusia.

Now, it has just been reported that Digi is in talks with Macquarie and abrdn to sell its fibre network in Spain. Should a transaction take place, it will free up Digi to accelerate its expansion, with the focus undoubtedly being on its mobile business, which seems to go from strength to strength. Additional capital could also be used for potential acquisitions in the Spanish telecom market.

Although Digi Spain Telecom is reported to have lost €6.45 million in 2022 due to heavy investment and the impact of inflation, the company is clearly on an upward trajectory. While Romania will undoubtedly remain Digi’s main market, Spain is catching up fast, certainly in terms of mobile telephony customers, and this is set to continue.

For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com