Nova TV

United Group owner BC Partners set to acquire Greece’s Forthnet

The creditors of indebted Greek service provider Forthnet – owner of the Nova TV pay TV operation – have reportedly entered into exclusive talks with private equity outfit BC Partners, owner of south-eastern European operator United Group, to sell their stake in the company. BC Partners would take on Forthnet’s debt as well as acquiring […]

Insight TV launches in Greece on Nova

UHD TV factual channel provider Insight TV has launched the HD version of its channel in Greece on the Nova pay TV platform. Insight TV’s content line-up will be e available in Greece and Cyprus with Greek subtitles provided by Nova. The deal was managed by Insight TV’s distribution partner, Thema. Nova’s premium content is […]

MTG’s sale of Nova Group gets regulatory approval

MTG’s sale of its 95% shareholding in Bulgaria’s Nova Broadcasting Group to Advance Media Group has received regulatory approval and is expected to close in April 2019. The deal values Nova at €185 million (SEK 1,917 million) and will produce a net capital gain of approximately SEK 1,300 million. MTG said it will use the sale […]

Bulgarian watchdog says no to MTG’s Nova sale

Bulgaria’s competition regulator, the Commission on Protection of Competition has blocked the sale of Modern Times Group (MTG)-owned Nova TV to Czech businessman Petr Kellner’s PPF Bidco. The watchdog said that the deal could reduce competition in the media and advertising market, citing Nova’s leading position in the media services market and the participants’ overlapping […]

CME sells Croatian and Slovenian networks for €230m

CME has agreed to sell its top broadcast operations in Croatia and Slovenia for €230 million, in what it described as a “transformational moment” for the company. Central European Media Enterprises made a deal to sell commercial networks Nova TV in Croatia and Pop TV in Slovenia to United Group subsidiary Slovenia Broadband. The deal was […]

Nova TV testing interest in premium sports OTT

Bulgarian broadcaster Nova TV is attempting to gauge consumer interest in premium OTT TV via its launch of Gong.bg Play, a premium live sports service it recently launched and which currently has 8,000 active subscribers. Speaking at Digital TV CEE in Budapest, Dimitar Radev, head of content distribution and new platforms at Nova, said 8,000 […]

M7 strikes Skylink deals with commercial broadcasters

M7 Group, owner of Czech and Slovak pay TV platform Skylink, has finalised agreements with Czech broadcasters Nova Group, owner of the Nova TV commercial channel, and Prima TV. The deal with Nova means that Skylink customers will again be able to view HD channels Nova HD, Nova Cinema HD and Fanda HD as part […]

Forthnet in talks to secure new finance

Greek pay TV operator Forthnet is considering issuing a €100 million convertible bond and is in talks with banks, according to CEO Panos Papadopoulis. Papadopoulis told local media that the operator, which runs the Nova TV service, had submitted all necessary information and was awaiting a decision. The company’s net debt stood at €324 million […]

OTE takes on Vodafone for control of Greece’s Nova TV

Deutsche Telekom-backed Greek telecom operator OTE has made a non-binding offer to media group Forthnet for the acquisition of local pay TV provider Nova TV. OTE is offering between €250-300 million on a debt and cash-free basis for Nova TV. Any deal will be subject to regulatory clearance. The move comes after OTE’s rival Vodafone […]

B.net Croatia adds CME’s Oyo

Telekom Austria-owned Croatian cable operator B.net has added CME-backed Nova TV’s Oyo video-on-demand service to its range of offerings. B.net is offering Oyo for a monthly fee of HRK35 (€4.60), for which they can access a wide range of news, entertainment and kids shows as well as movie service Oyo Cinema and entertainment service Oyo […]