OTE inks deal to air top European soccer for next 3 years
Greece’s largest telecoms group OTE has secured a deal to broadcast matches of the top two European tournaments for the next three years, it said on Wednesday, in a bid to boost market share amid fierce competition at home.
OTE, which is 40 percent-owned and managed by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, said its pay-TV unit will broadcast all UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches for three years from July 2015.
It did not reveal the cost of the deal.
“With Champions League, Europa League and the rest of the top international and Greek sports tournaments hosted by OTE TV, our clients enjoy by far the richest sports content in the country,” OTE Chief Operating Officer Zacharias Piperidis said in statement.
In a move to defend its market share in a shrinking, austerity-hit telecoms industry, OTE and main rivals Vodafone and Wind have set their sights on Greece’s biggest subscription TV provider Forthnet.
OTE has offered to acquire Forthnet’s pay-TV business Nova for 250-300 million euros.
[Reuters]
