Turkey’s Digitürk may be sold off in whole or in part following a
Turkish state fund’s seizure of 12 companies owned by the pay TV
operator’s majority owner, Çukurova Group, according to local reports.
Sakir Ercan Gül, chairman of the Turkish Saving Deposit Insurance Fund
(TMSF), told Bloomberg at the weekend that the TMSF would enter talks
with Providence Equity Partners, which holds the 47% of Digitürk not
owned by Çukurova, with a view to selling either Çukurova’s stake or
organising a joint sale of the company.
Digitürk’s rival Türk Telekom has denied reports that it is preparing to
purchase the operator. The operator said it was not involved in any
negotiations to buy Digitürk, although it “will continue to evaluate
opportunities that can create value”.
Separately, Digiturk has begun providing set-tops that include the the
Anytime Anywhere technology from Motive Television that enables
on-demand content to be delivered via the broadcast stream.
Motive has estimated that at least 100,000 Digiturk subscribers will
receive set-tops with its technology on board over the next two to three
years.
The Turkish deal gives Motive its second major client for the Anytime
Anywhere technology, following its earlier deal with Italy’s Mediaset.
It is is also the first time the technology has been used by a satellite
TV broadcaster.
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