German media company ProSiebenSat.1 wants to acquire Austrian commercial broadcaster ATV from German media group Tele München Gruppe (TMG).
The contracts were signed on February 6, 2017, according to Austrian subsidiary ProSiebenSat.1 Puls 4. Financial details were not disclosed. The take-over still requires permission from Austria’s media regulator and anti-trust authority.
“I’m glad that we found the best solution for the company’s continuance,” said Herbert Kloiber, chairman of TMG. Markus Breitenecker, managing director of ProSiebenSat.1 Puls 4, added: “The objective of the acquisition is to integrate ATV into ProSiebenSat.1 Puls 4 Group and thus to strengthen ATV’s position in the Austrian TV market sustainably.”
With the planned integration and restructuration, ProSiebenSat.1 Puls 4 intends to secure the existence of ATV in the long term. ProSiebenSat.1 already operates commercial channel Puls 4 in Austria as well as local advertising and programme windows of its German TV channels.
ATV went on air in 2003, sister channel ATV2 followed in 2011. In 2016, video-on-demand platform ATV Smart was launched.
Kloiber announced the sale of ATV in August 2016 due to the broadcaster’s ongoing losses, concluding: “ATV was my biggest mistake.”
