The board of Dahlia TV has approved plans to appoint a liquidator to the troubled Italian DTT pay platform. In a statement the company said it hoped a plan could be developed that would lead to a quick resolution.
Telecom Italia Media (TI Media), which maintained a minority shareholding after it sold its former terrestrial business unit to the Swedish Airplus TV in 2008, said separately it was uncertain as to what would happen to the 150 staff employed by the company. TI Media said that the full effects on TI Media itself would only be likely to emerge after the liquidation process.
It is thought that the influential Swedish Wallenberg family had decided not to invest further in the venture.
The former La7 Cartapiù had around 800,000 registered users, of which it is thought around 250,000 cards remained active.
Early on Monday it had emerged that business development minister Paolo Romani had contacted the company with a view to saving the business.
In December, Filmmaster, which produces programming for Dahlia TV and is also a 7% shareholder, told journalists it had reduced the output as it is faced with a backlog of outstanding invoices.
Dahlia TV remains on the air. It owns the rights to a number of football games in the Italian A league, as well as the B league, but recently lost the rights of three clubs, Palermo, Bologna and Fiorentina, to rival Mediaset Premium. The platform also broadcasts a number of adult entertainment programmes at night.
