Forthnet has until the middle of this month to decide if it is interested in OTE’s non-binding offer for its Nova pay-TV operations.
As previously reported in Broadband TV News, the bid, which was submitted by the Greek incumbent earlier this week, is in the range of €250-300 million on a debt/cash free basis.
Should Forthnet agree to sell Nova to OTE, it would have far-reaching implications for the pay-TV market in Greece.
Pay-TV services first appeared in the country in 1994 with the launch of MultiChoice’s FilmNet.
SuperSport, the country’s first-ever channel dedicated solely to sport, followed a year later.
Nova, Greece’s first DTH platform, was launched in 2001 and at one stage faced competition from a rival platform named Alfa, before the latter closed down.
It has been something of a pioneer, introducing HD and then 3D services into the Greek market.
It currently has around 500,000 compared to the around 300,000 that opt for the rival service OTE TV, operated by the incumbent.
OTE initially operated an IPTV service but subsequently moved to an all-DTH operation.
It is interesting to note that rather than suffering a contraction the size of the Greek pay-TV had doubled since the start of the economic crisis in 2008.
