Vivendi: partnership with Mediaset to create an OTT platform and acquire Mediaset Premium

Vivendi, the French telecommunications and media group, concluded an "important binding strategic and industrial" agreement with the Italian broadcaster Mediaset, on 08/04/2016. "The two companies have agreed to develop an industrial partnership at international level to, on one hand, jointly develop various initiatives for the production and distribution of ambitious audiovisual content and, on the other, to create a global over-the-top (OTT) television delivery platform," announced Vivendi.

Under the agreement, 3.5% of Vivendi's capital will be exchanged for 3.5% of Mediaset's capital and 100% of the capital of the pay-TV company Mediaset Premium, the holder of, notably, the broadcast rights of the Serie A TIM and the Champions League for the 2015-2018 cycle in Italy. "With Mediaset Premium, Vivendi greatly expands its presence in European pay-television, increasing its global individual subscriber base to over 13 million, in an Italian market offering important growth opportunities," said Vivendi.

Mediaset has spent €700m to acquire the exclusive broadcasting rights, in Italy, of…