RTL, ProSieben Plan Open German Internet-TV Platform - Sources
March 25 2010 - 8:14AM
Dow Jones News
ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG (PSM.XE) and RTL Group SA's (RTL.BT)
German unit want to create a new open internet platform for
catch-up TV across Germany and Austria that would be open to all
broadcasters, several people familiar with the matter told Dow
Jones Newswires Thursday.
The two companies already run their own catch-up TV
platforms--which allow viewers to see some content via the internet
for several days after it is first broadcast--but now want to
create a common platform open to all broadcasters, including
private competitors and public TV stations, because consumers
prefer the easy access of just one platform, the people said.
"It's the German answer to Hulu," one person said, referring to
a U.S. platform that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at
Hulu.com and other online destination sites anytime in the U.S.
Hulu, founded in 2007, is owned by NBC Universal, News Corp. (NWS),
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Providence Equity Partners and the Hulu
team.
News Corp. owns Dow Jones, publisher of this newswire and the
Wall Street Journal.
To create the German language online platform, ProSiebenSat.1
and RTL Mediengruppe Deutschland plan a joint company which will
provide technical services, the people said.
Editorial decisions and marketing will remain the responsibility
of the single channels that use the platform, they added.
The project would needs antitrust approval. The European
Commission still has to decide whether it would give that approval
or whether it would leave it to the German antitrust authority,
Bundeskartellamt, the people said. ProSiebenSat.1 and RTL
Mediengruppe Deutschland will make the plans public when the
decision has been made.
For private free-to-air broadcasters, catch-up TV platforms are
a new source for advertising revenue. Viewers can watch series and
shows for free but can't skip advertising.
Both companies, ProSiebenSat.1 and RTL Group, recently said they
have to tap new revenue sources to become more independent from
classic TV advertising sales.
-By Archibald Preuschat, Dow Jones Newswires, +49 211 138 7218,
archibald.preuschat@dowjones.com
BRT Apartments (NYSE:BRT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
BRT Apartments (NYSE:BRT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024