Vivendi dispute impacts Mediaset Q3
November 9, 2016
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italian broadcasting group Mediaset posted losses of €116.6 million in the first nine months of 2016, compared to a loss of €36.1 million in the same period in 2015.
The results were impacted by €50 million in extraordinary expenses during the period between April 8 and September 30, as a result of “commitments taken on with the signing of a contract” to sell of its pay-TV unit Mediaset Premium to Vivendi. The French media group, subsequently, pulled out of the deal, citing “unrealistic” budget assumptions.
Revenue was up in the same period, by €149.5 million, to €2.56 billion, while EBITDA amounted to €892.9 million, up from €871.4 million in 9M 2015.
In the pay-TV segment, revenues increased by 12.6 per cent, to €457.4 million. Although revenue grew by 16 per cent in the first half of 2016, the growth slowed down in the third quarter (+5 per cent).
Gross TV advertising revenues grew by 2.6 per cent to €1.39 billion, compared to €1.36 billion in the first nine months of 2015.