Spanish news channel CNN+ is to close after Turner’s local partner Prisa pulled out of the venture. It is the first move after the entrance of hedge fund Liberty Acquisition Holdings into the Spanish media conglomerate.
CNN+ is expected to close at midnight on December 31, when the current agreement with Turner Broadcasting expires. The channel is produced locally by CINTV and distributed both on satellite and via Spain’s terrestrial platform ‘TDT’.
As part of the December 2009 agreement for its 22% participation in Digital+, Prisa granted Media set’s Telecinco the right to lease one of the eight terrestrial slots and develop an “exclusive news channel”, a right that has now been waived by Telecinco.
CNN+ began broadcasting in January 1999, two years after CNN en Español was launched in the United States, and at a time when Turner shareholder Time Warner was a joint owner of the German n-tv.
Other channels within the Prisa TV group including La Siete, FDF and Boing may also be under threat.
