Cairo bids for Italian DTT multiplex
June 16, 2014
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italian media group Cairo Communication has submitted a binding bid to the Ministry of Economic Development for the awarding of a 20-year licence for a DTT multiplex.
The value of the bid for the new TV network, operating on the national frequency with UHF technology (channel 25 and 59), the so-called Lot 3, will be made public on June 25th.
Cairo also signed a term sheet with Mediaset-controlled tower company EI Towers for the construction and subsequent multi-annual technical management in full service of the DTT multiplex.
The agreement foresees a transitional phase (from January 1st 2015 until December 31st 2017) and a phase of network management (2018-2034). Cairo will have the right of free withdrawal until January 1st 2025, and the DTT multiplex will have guaranteed coverage of over 94 per cent of the population.
Cairo will pay EI Towers approximately €14 million (total amount in three years) during the transitional phase and €18.3 million per year from 2018. The agreements also include an annual charge for EI Towers to Cairo between €0 and €4 million, in case of incomplete exploitation by Cairo of the available bandwidth on the Multiplex.