Austrian media company Red Bull Media House will withdraw its TV channel Servus TV from neighbouring Germany and Switzerland at the end of 2016.
“Servus TV will focus on its home market and its Austrian programme identity. Consequently, the broadcast licences in Germany and Switzerland will be handed back and transmissions will be terminated in these countries at the end of this year,” the free-to-air channel confirmed to German media magazine w&v.
The company didn’t give any details on the consequences of the decision and its reasons. The shutdown will probably mainly affect the employees in the German office in Munich.
In early May 2016, Austrian billionaire and Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz announced the closure of Servus TV for financial reasons, but revoked his decision one day later.
The retreat from Germany and Switzerland refers to its cable and satellite distribution, Servus TV specified on its Facebook site. The channel’s satellite signal on Astra (19.2° East) for DTH satellite households in Austria has been encrypted since March 1, 2016 and therefore doesn’t provide an alternative way of reception for viewers outside Austria.
