Vodafone ‘will be in TV’
February 26, 2013
Vodafone will launch new services including pay TV, CEO Vittorio Colao has told the Mobile World Congress. Colao confirmed Vodafone would launch ‘unified’ service packages and said he was looking at a number of acquisition targets.
Colao’s comments come as it was confirmed the mobile giant had hired Sachs to advise on a possible €10 billion bid for Kabel Deutschland. Vodafone already delivers hybrid TV in Germany that combines internet-delivered content with satellite or cable access to broadcast channels, using a platform supplied by NDS.
On regulation Colao said that there were some encouraging signs that regulators were becoming more sympathetic to consolidation but that the undertakings forced on parties involved in mergers suggested regulators still had a “bipolar” mentality. Ironically it is the conditions imposed on the KDG – Telecolumbus deal that has seen KDG become a target for Vodafone.
Colao claimed Vodafone’s balance sheet would allow it to make multiple investments without selling its stake in US operator Verizon Wireless. He also said Vodafone could launch services on its own without making acquisitions if necessary.