Danish publishing group Egmont has increased its ownership of Norway’s commercial network TV 2 from 50% to 100 %.
Egmont has paid a cash amount of NOK2.1 billion (€274 million) for the 50% of TV 2 previously owned by A-pressen. Egmont now owns 100 % of Norway’s largest commercial electronic media house. Egmont was co-founder of TV 2 in 1991.
“As co-founder and part-owner of TV 2 through more than 20 years, Egmont has always been concerned with the long-term development of TV 2. As TV is a key element in our strategy, it was an obvious choice for us to purchase. Today, Egmont makes a significant strategic leap towards more TV and more live pictures in our business. TV 2 is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Egmont,” said Steffen Kragh, CEO of Egmont, in a statement.
”We wish that TV 2 continues its focus on news, sports and entertainment. This is a natural consequence of the fact that seven in 10 Norwegians choose TV2 as their media outlet for these types of content on TV and online every day. Egmont guarantees that TV 2 still is an independent media house with a local Norwegian profile and that TV 2 continues to build good and close relations to the Norwegian people.”
Chairman of the board at TV 2 and Egmont CFO, Hans J. Carstensen, added: “”TV 2 is not only a TV channel but a media house that brings content to numerous platforms. Egmont will – as always – support all the big focus areas and investments in TV 2. We are committed to local, Norwegian management. As owners, we are 100 % behind TV 2’s agreement with the Norwegian state, which means that TV 2 is a public service media house with its head office in Bergen.”
Broadband TV Backgrounder. TV2 was launched on September 5, 1992, after the Stortinget (the Norwegian parliament) introduced a law making national commercial TV in Norway possible. The channel was launched by three main investors, Vital Forsikring, Egmont and Schibsted, who received a concession for the period 1992-2001.The licence was renewed in 2001.
TV 2 is Norway’s largest commercial media house, measured by media consumption.
TV 2 is by far Norway’s largest commercial TV businesses. The main channel TV 2 is the country’s only commercial public service broadcaster. There are other channels in the portfolio, such as the sports- and entertainment channel TV 2 Zebra, the entertainment channel TV 2 Bliss, TV 2 Movie Channel, TV 2 Science Fiction and TV 2 Nyhetskanalen, Norway’s only national news channel. In 2010, the TV 2 channels had a 26.7 % share of all Norwegian TV viewing.
With TV 2 Sport and TV 2 Barclay’s Premier League, TV 2 has taken a strong position in the market for premium channels. TV 2 Barclay’s Premier League has over 150,000 subscribers after just one year.
TV 2’s web-TV, TV 2 Sumo, and tv2.no are at the centre of TV 2’s online strategy. Measured by the number of subscribers, TV 2 Sumo is the largest in Scandinavia.
TV 2 has the subsidiaries OB-Team, TV 2 Torget, Vimond, TV 2 Invest, and Mosart Medialab, along with ownerships in TV 2 Zebra (55 %), RiksTV (33.33 %) and Norges Televisjon (33.33 %).
