Sky acquires Viacom’s MTV Italia
August 3, 2015
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italian pay-TV operator Sky Italia has signed an agreement with Viacom International Media Networks for the acquisition of Nuova Società Televisiva Italiana, a company that operates the MTV Italia channel. Financial aspects of the transaction were not disclosed.
The free-to-air TV channel is available on position 8 on the national DTT netork in Italy.
The general entertainment channel, which for the time will continue to be called MTV Italia, will still air programmes produced by Viacom, but will progressively add content from Sky Italia. News bulletins from Sky Italia are already on air and the new schedule could include also include live sports coverage.
The deal is seen as part of Sky Italia’s strategy to diversify its offer and business model beyond its core pay-TV model. The broadcaster already has two FTA channels on DTT in Italy (Cielo and Sky TG24) and the addition of a third channel will enable it to increase both audience figures and advertising revenue.