Italian telecommunications group Telecom Italia (TIM) has finalised the creation of a joint venture with French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus.
The venture – of which TIM will have a 60-per-cent shareholding and Canal Plus will have a 40-per-cent stake – will compete for sports rights in Italy and will also manage domestic and international production projects.
The joint venture’s chief executive will be selected by the TIM-appointed directors within a board comprising three TIM representatives and two Canal Plus representatives.
In August, media group Vivendi confirmed plans to form an Italian pay-television platform in association with its TIM and Groupe Canal subsidiaries.
“With this transaction, TIM is taking an important step forward in the strategy of convergence between telecommunications and media,” said Amos Genish, who was appointed as TIM’s new chief executive earlier this month. “The joint venture with Canal Plus will in fact allow us to seize new opportunities for growth in a market undergoing continuous evolution through a commercial offer of fibre connectivity combined with premium video content.”