ITV

Tag: Italia

  • Telecom Italia kicks off IPTV trials

    Telecom Italia kicks off IPTV trials

    MUMBAI: European telecom player Telecom Italia has intensified its plans to launch an IPTV service. The company has gone into large-scale trials in four cities with plans of a commercial rollout later this year in 21 Italian markets.

    More than four million households will have access to the service via a 4 Mb/s ADSL connection when it becomes commercially available, says media reports.

    During the trial phase, IPTV users have a special Set Top Box connected to their TV to access content over an Alice 4 Mega link. Users also have an ADSL Wi-Fi modem to which up to 5 PCs can be connected at any one time. An infra-red keyboard allows users to access the Net and send and receive email directly from their TV.

    IPTV trials are being conducted with technology partners Alcatel, Microsoft and Pirelli. Alcatel is supplying technologies including the latest generation of ADSL access devices and its “Open Media Suite” set top box video entertainment TV distribution platform. Microsoft has supplied Telecom Italia with its “Microsoft TV IPTV Edition” software, which the company is using to test and offer a new generation of for-payment video services and content.

    The service offers a wide range of TV programming and video content in high-quality format over ADSL access lines. Commercial service is being rolled out this autumn, initially in 21 cities across Italy (Rome, Milan, Bologna, Palermo, Bari, Naples, Padua, Cagliari, Genoa, Florence, Alessandria, Modena, Venice, Verona, Turin, Trieste, Catania, Brescia, Biella, Sondrio and Reggio Emilia).

    Telecom Italia’s full commercial IPTV service will offer live Serie A TIM and B TIM Italian football, top Italian basketball, a huge video library of 600 films plus 30 new films per month, reality shows and live events on “Alice Live”, presented by well-known faces from TV, music, film and science.
     

  • News Corp,Telecom Italia to acquire Telepiu

    News Corp,Telecom Italia to acquire Telepiu

    NEW YORK, PARIS: News Corporation and Telecom Italia have signed a definitive agreement with Vivendi Universal and the Canal+ Group to acquire Telepiu, the Italian pay-TV business.

    The transaction consideration at signing is 920 million, consisting of the assumption of up to 450 million in debt and a cash payment of 470 million for the shares of Telepiu. This cash payment will be adjusted downward by the amount of outstanding accounts payable at closing. As of today, the accounts payable stand at approximately 200 million. It is anticipated that at closing, total consideration before the accounts payable adjustment will be 893 million, reflecting continuing debt reduction at Telepiu between the signing of today’s agreement and the anticipated closing.

    The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year, whereupon Telepiu will be combined with Stream, the Italian pay-TV platform jointly owned by News Corporation and Telecom Italia, and renamed Sky Italia. News Corporation will hold an 80.1 per cent equity interest in Sky Italia, and Telecom Italia will hold a 19.9 percent equity interest.

    The acquisition consideration includes the various rights to telecast certain future Italian soccer matches, which have previously been paid for by Telepiu, as well as the rights to two terrestrial television licenses. The combined platform will be required to sell the terrestrial television station licenses. As part of the acquisition agreement, all litigation between the parties, including Streams litigation against Telepiu and Canal+s litigation against NDS, will be suspended immediately and permanently withdrawn when the transaction closes.

    J.P. Morgan and Mediobanca have acted as financial advisers to News Corporation in connection with this transaction. Lehman Brothers have acted as financial advisers to Vivendi Universal.