Hot topics click link for more
The buying binge - and selling - in the media sphere continues unabated. International transactions are particularly hot. It appears to be a sellers market as the well-financed buyers gobble up anything in their sight. Sellers just wait for offers, take the cash and move to an island.
Luxembourg -based Canal+ Group has agreed to acquire 70% of broadcaster SPI International (September 20). Canal+ is mostly a pay-TV operator, a subsidiary of the Vivendi conglomerate controlled by Vincent Bolloré, SPI International, based in the Netherlands, operates 42 free to air, pay-TV channels and streaming services primarily in central and eastern Europe. (See more about Vivendi/Canal+ here)
A large part of the deal comes down to Poland. Included is SPI International majority held - 65% stake - Kino Polska TV, operator of the movie channel of the same name and the FilmBox brand channels. Kino Polska TV holds a 41% stake in Stopklatka TV, a Polish digital channel. Kino Polska TV is also majority shareholder in Cable Networks Television & Partners (CNTP) that operates Zoom TV in Poland. Included, too, is a digital restoration company. (See more about media in Poland here)
Also in the deal is UK-based FilmBox, which operates movie channels under that brand name, and MovieBox, operator of various thematic channels. Both are active in dozens of countries, mostly as premium services. Earlier Canal+ acquired Polish movie channel Kino Swiat and the M7 Group, which operates TV channels in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania. In June Canal+ hired former Kino Polska TV program director Beata Ryczkowska.
The usual regulatory approvals will apply. The companies expect closing before the end of the year. Financial details were not disclosed.
Attention to all things related to climate change has risen on media outlets, certainly but not exclusively the newsrooms. The reason is simple: market research and opinion polls show indisputable evidence of increased interest among readers, listeners and viewers. Weather reports and forecasts have always been necessary elements for publishers and broadcasters. But now every flood, hurricane or heatwave relates to the broader subject of climate.
The Cumbre Vieja (Old Peak) mountain on the island of La Plama started to seriously shake September 11th, finally letting loose a volcanic eruption September 19th, which continues. The Canary Islands, Spanish territory off the coast of Morocco, were formed around an active volcanic region known as the Canary hotspot. Before this summer, Cumbre Vieja erupted three times in the 20th century. Mostly, La Plama and the other seven Canary Islands are known as tourist hotspots. About 2 million people, not including tourists, reside in the Canary Islands.
Canary Islands public broadcaster Radio Televisión Canaria (RTVC) has devoted considerable time and talent to the Cumbre Vieja eruption. About 40 staff have reported for duty on La Plama. Since Tuesday (September 21) the evening TV newscast has originated from the volcano site. "We have been lucky to have planned everything very well," joked RTVC administrator Francisco Paco Moreno to Spanish daily El Pais (September 23). "Especially considering (La Palma) being a peripheral island, the connections are not so good.” (See more about media in Spain here)
Indeed, most of the live video of the erupting volcano and lava flows seen around the world originated with RTVC. “We have a commitment to public service, and, therefore, we do not hesitate to give our signal to all the channels that asked us,” explained Sr Moreno. "There is no competition, just teamwork.” (See more about TV news here)
Volcanic eruptions are both an effect and cause of global climate change. Spewing superheated gas and matter into the Earth’s atmosphere absorb sunlight energy and change surface temperatures, particularly over large bodies of water. Then, too, warmer surface temperatures affect the frequency of volcanic eruptions. Stay tuned.
In these interesting times big media companies are certainly on the prowl for tasty acquisitions. Chief executives and their financial teams will go anywhere, almost, to kick the tires and take temperatures. Actually, that’s their job, along with keeping shareholders happy, which is related.
Sony Pictures announced it is serious about merging its Sony Pictures Networks India subsidiary with Zee Entertainment. Sony Pictures is, itself, a subsidiary of Sony Group, the rather huge Japanese multinational conglomerate. Actually, the companies are officially in that 90-day exclusive talks phase during which they will look carefully at the books and fully articulate an agreement. Sony Pictures attempted a similar merger of TV assets with Reliance Industries in 2019, which failed. Obviously, they kept looking. (See more about mergers and acquisitions here)
The deal value is estimated at about US$4 billion. Sony will “inject” sufficient capital at closing so that the merged unit will have US$1.58 billion in the drawer, reported Bloomberg (September 22). Sony Pictures India will hold a 53% stake, Zee Entertainment shareholders the rest. Sony will name the majority of the board of directors. Zee chief executive Punit Goenka will have the same job in the merged company, which will continue to be publicly listed in India.
Activist investors Invesco, through two funds, tried to call an emergency shareholders meeting to oust Mr. Goenka and reduce the hold over the company by founder Subhash Chandra. They seem to be happy about getting money and have called off that shareholders meeting. India media watchers see the transaction as rescuing Mr. Chandra and now all parties are happy.
India is a very big TV and entertainment market and Zee Entertainment operates a slew of television channels, fitting for the second largest country by population in the world. It has about 4,000 employees, based in Mumbai. The company is also a prolific television producer. The merged company will operate 75 TV channels as well as two film studios, two video streaming services and more.
Bild TV has been on the air for a month. The accompanying promotion from owner Axel Springer has been inescapable in Germany. The sizeable audience for tabloid Bild, particularly online, has been constantly reminded that Bild TV is on, just as loud and gaudy.
Initial audience estimates, reported German media portal Medieninsider (September 22), have been underwhelming. Market share in the first month clocked in a 0.1%. Welt TV, also offered by Axel Springer, and n-tv fared considerably better; 0.9% and 1.1% shares, respectively. The best audience estimate for Bild TV came on its first days, about a million viewers. That dropped by more than half by September 18th. The prospect of an audience bump from election campaign debates dissipated. (See more about media in Germany here)
Publisher Axel Springer first announced last April that a new satellite and cable television channel under the Bild brand name was coming. Founder Axel Springer had long pined for an entrée to TV land, always thwarted by one thing or another. He famously called tabloid Bild the “printed answer to television.” In light of Bild’s editorial posture of crime, celebrity and right-wing populist politics, observers quickly dubbed the TV project “deutsches Fox News” - German Fox News - referring to the US TV channel principally owned by the Murdoch family.
When Bild TV debuted (August 22) all doubts were removed. “Scare tactics, agitation and disinformation are formative here and there, coupled with an embarrassing overestimation of oneself,” wrote Tageszeitung (September 9). The strategy, quite clearly, is to cement the brand with "rowdy programs on coronavirus measures or foreigner crime,” said media critic Moritz Tschermak.
Prosecutions of reporters investigating official misbehavior and, even, corruption just drone on. Officials, elected or otherwise, have resources to keep up the pressure. Reporters, not so much though public opinion sometimes helps.
For two investigative reporters for Slovak news platform Denník N - Monika Tódová and Constantine Cikovsky - it has been just another week in the newsroom, figuratively. Last week (September 14) a police officer, not identified, brought charges against the two for “endangering a confidential fact and a reserved fact,” reported Slovak media portal Medialne (September 20). The charges, delivered by a Bratislava prosecutor, related to the reporters identifying an “undercover witness” to the 2018 murders of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirová. (See more about media in Slovakia here)
The murder case was grimy, and so it remains. A prime minister was forced to resign. Other officials ran for cover. There were arrests and trials. Two hitmen and an associate were sent to prison. The paymasters were prosecuted, now being rerun. Throughout Slovakia and the world that pays attention it has been a textbook case of official impunity. (See more about the Jan Kuciak investigations here)
This week (September 21), the Bratislava regional prosecutors office “annulled” the police complaint "as illegal and unfounded, but also arbitrary, ordering the authorized officer of the Police Force to act and decide on the matter again,” said spokesperson Dalibor Skladan. A day earlier Slovak Attorney General Maros Zilinka “instructed” the prosecutor’s office to “ensure a speedy review of the legality and justification” of the charges against the reporters. The “undercover witness” was identified as Peter Toth, former counter-intelligence chief with the Slovak Intelligence Service who admitted being paid by alleged paymaster Marian Kocner to “follow” Mr. Kusiak and other reporters including Ms Todova. (See more about corruption here)
Slovaks are still rooting out corruption. In the elapsing three years three Slovakian police chiefs have been forced from office. “After the murder of Jan Kuciak, we have seen a process of cleaning up within the police, and this is a positive development,” said Stop Corruption NGO chairperson Zuzana Petkova to AFP (September 1).
|
