Polish satcasters to merge

PARIS -- Vivendi's Canal Plus Group has completed the merger of their Cyfra Plus Polish satcaster with rival pay TV platform "n," possessed by Polish TV operator TVN and also the third biggest in the united states, CPG introduced Monday. Together Cyfra and "n" will form a brand new pay TV operator by which CPG may have 51% stake and TVN 32%. The brand new joint satcaster is going to be collectively handled by Boss Markus Tellenbach and deputy Boss Beata Monka. Canal Plus Group has additionally compensated Euros230 million ($300.a million) for any 40% shareholding in N-Vision, which holds 51% of TVN. The Gallic pay TV giant mentioned Monday the merger will prompt synergy savings and revenue growth worth $72.six million and supply customers with "exclusive content and also the most advanced technology, such as the largest high-def offering within the Polish market." Also Monday, Nickelodeon introduced "n" would launch a brand new funnel bouquet, Kids XL package, including Nickelodeon HD. 'n' will even add Nick Junior. The satcaster merger allows Canal Plus, whose Cyfra Plus has already been Poland's second biggest satcaster with 1.5 million customers, to consolidate its position in Polish pay TV and take on the free TV market, as TVN also is the owner of free-to-air channels. "The timing with this deal is appropriate. Cyfra Plus had lost some customer momentum because the arrival of 'n' around the pay TV landscape," described Christophe Cherblanc, mind of media research at Societe Generale. "The Polish pay TV market was becoming saturated with three large pay TV groups: Cyfrowy Polsat, Cyfra Plus and 'n.' Other European marketplaces only have one major pay TV platform, or two, as with Italia." The recently-produced platform is anticipated to achieve 2.5 million customers by year-finish. Deal has not yet been greenlit by anti-trust government bodies. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com