Italian broadcast giant Mediaset has announced plans to add three pay television channels to its Mediaset Premium brand and has taken the wraps off new content deals with Time Warner and Universal.
Friday’s introduction of the channels sets the company on a collision course with News Corp. subsidiary Sky Italia, indirectly pitting two of the world’s wealthiest media moguls — Mediaset’s Silvio Berlusconi and News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch — against each other. Before the 2003 creation of Sky Italia, the two worked together on several deals.
The plan comes as Mediaset pursues several new initiatives, including talks to distribute Mediaset content online in Italy via Telecom Italia, FastWeb or Tiscali — Italy’s three most important ISPs.
Mediaset said that Mediaset Premium will cost subscribers about €8 ($12) per month. That’s about half the price of Sky Italia’s lowest-priced package, though the plans have different offerings: Mediaset’s plan will offer little sports and a heavy emphasis on films. Sky Italia’s basic package features no films but a wide array of sports coverage.
A Sky Italia spokesman declined comment.
Mediaset said the channels will start operating by midyear.
Also Friday, the Milan-based broadcaster said it has won exclusive Italian broadcast rights for films from Time Warner and Universal, giving a boost to the Milan-based corporation’s efforts to reposition itself as a content company rather than a pure broadcaster.
Terms of the deal were not released, but local media reports estimate that the two four-year agreements are worth about $600 million.
Related Stories
More from The Hollywood Reporter
-
Sirius XM Radio
SiriusXM Grows Subs in Fourth Quarter, Faces “Challenging” Economy and “Material Investments”
![]()
-
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery Names Rebecca Rormark Head of Streaming Marketing for EMEA
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
Film and TV Tax Credits
New York Gov. Aims to Boost Film Tax Credits to $700M As New Jersey Rivalry Heats Up
![]()
-
![]()
