French digital-terrestrial pay services to merge

French digital-terrestrial pay-TV services TV Numeric and TNTop TV are to merge. TV Numeric has agreed to purchase TNTop, owned by UK-based Top Up TV, for an undisclosed sum.

Top Up TV CEO David Chance will join the supervisory board of TV Numeric and TNTop managing director Charles Bornot is to become managing director of TV Numeric.

TV Numeric chairman Marc Olivier said the merger would allow the combined entity to present a more inclusive offer and would enable it to prepare the launch of push-VOD services over the platform. The broadcaster is currently initiating tests of the latter in Rouen and Evreux in collaboration with transmission services provider TDF.