Hot on the heels of its acquisition of NXVision, broadcast television technology and services provider Motive Television has announced the proposed acquisition of approximately 67.7 per cent of Barcelona company Adecq Digital, developer of the Bestv technology for digital terrestrial television. Motive is proposing to raise approximately £4.75 million through a Subscription for £4,750,000 nominal value of Convertible Loan Notes and 71,250,000 Subscription Warrants.

Bestv technology enables DTT broadcasters to offer push VOD, pay-TV and catch-up television over the air to a TV set without the need for an Internet connection.
A hybrid version is also available which incorporates video from the Internet in combination with over the air content.

Motive has held global distribution rights (excluding Spain and Italy) for Bestv technology since July 2009. Bestv technology has been in national commercial operation at Mediaset in Italy and regionally in Spain since December 2009; pilot operations are currently underway at TVNova in the Czech Republic and Antenna Hungaria in Hungary.

Motive considers the acquisition offers the opportunity to increase its size and increase its earnings potential, and that the DTT sector offers many exciting opportunities and the potential for rapid growth which will result from the mandatory switchover from analogue television to digital by 2015 in most of the 120 countries which are members of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

Leonard M Fertig, CEO of Motive, said the Bestv technology had the potential to revolutionise terrestrial broadcasting by giving DTT operators opportunities to participate in pay television, as well as catch-up television on the TV set without need for the Internet. “We believe that this proposition is very exciting to broadcasters and that it is beginning to gain traction in the market,” he stated. Michael Pilsworth, Chairman, added that the company had been acquiring and investing in businesses with innovative technology in the broadcasting sector and Adeqc Digital fitted that description.

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