Could Antenna Group become the company to watch this year in Central and Eastern Europe?
Just as 2013 was drawing to a close, it acquired a number of music stations in the region from Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Group. At the same time, the latter sold its Romanian channel Prima TV to the local entrepreneur Cristian Burci and four Hungarian channels to their management teams.
Antenna Group, which is owned by the Greek Kyriakou family, still has a presence in the TV industries in Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia, the first two through PRVA-branded stations and latter through Planet TV.
However, its intention to expand its activities in South East Europe, and indeed to parts of CEE, was underlined just this week by the appointment of Peter Smith as its new managing director.
Smith is an industry veteran with 25 years of experience in TV and film production, and a former president of NBC Universal. His brief is to grow Antenna Group’s activities, with a particular focus on “looking for alliances and opportunities in channels, rights and digital assets across Europe.”
Quoted by the Financial Times, Smith revealed that he would initially look at smaller acquisitions of around $50 million in production companies, FTA TV, pay-TV, distribution via the internet and other areas. While playing down interest in the UK’s Channel 5, it is clear that Antenna Group is interested in such markets as Turkey, Poland, Hungary and Romania.
It therefore comes as no surprise that – certainly in the case of Romania – it has already been linked with assets currently owned by Central European Media Enterprises (CME).
The latter, as we all know, is in serious financial difficulties and looking to cut costs, most probably through some disposals.
Where those disposals will come remains to be seen, but Antenna Group will almost certainly be interested in bidding for them.
