Discovery Italia loses €8.1m on Nove
September 13, 2016
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Discovery Italia has reported €8.1 million in losses at its general entertainment terrestrial TV channel Nove in Italy.
Acquired at the beginning of 2015 from local media group Espresso, Nove (formerly Deejay Television/All Music) had revenues of €11.2 million and expenses of €19.2 million last year.
The value of the net assets were negative for €1.6 million, compared to the €36.8 million when Discovery Italia took over the channel. Advertising revenues amounted to €12.8 million in the same period.
According to Discovery Italia, the losses were mainly due to increased investments in marketing and promotion of the TV channel, adding that the performance in 2016 has been significantly better.
However, even under the previous owners, Deejay TV/All Music recorded losses in the five previous years to 2015.
Discovery Italia, which operates both free-to-air and pay-TV channels in Italy, saw a 17.2 per cent growth in revenues in 2015 to €195 million, and a net profit of €8.5 million (€5.2 million in 2014). Advertising revenues were up 19.4 per cent, to €174.6 million.