VG Media, the collecting society of private television and radio stations in Germany, has announced an agreement with Haus & Grund, the association of private houses, apartments and property owners, for the distribution of commercial channels.
Under German copyright law, property owners need to pay a licence fee for the cable distribution in their properties to collecting societies such as VG Media. These rights are payable when more than ten houses or apartments are connected to a cable network or SMATV installation.
Haus & Grund said it has negotiated a special deal for its members, which offers 20% discount on the regular tariffs from VG Media. The fee per household is €1.01 for this year. Haus & Grund is the largest association of owners, with over 900,000 members.
ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG is the largest shareholder in VG Media with 50%, followed by news channel N24 with 11.3%, with the remainder held by private radio stations. RThe RTL Group is not part of VG Media; the broadcaster sold its shares in 2010 and is now itself negotiating distribution rights of its channels.
