A staggering 59.5% increase in revenues for Mediaset Premium has led Mediaset to predict breakeven for the Italian DTT pay service later this year. The company also confirmed plans to launch a new free-to-air terrestrial channel. First quarter revenues for Mediaset Premium of €115.1 million from card sales, top-ups (the so-called recharges) and the Easy Pay subscription, confirmed management indications that 2010 will see net profit and cash generation.
As of March 31, 2010, there were around 4.1 million active cards, compared with around 3.3 million at the same point of the previous year.
The new La5, launching tomorrow evening (May 12), is a sister channel to Canale 5 and will target a female audience with a mix of series, films, drama sitcoms and soap opera.