UPDATE Orange will launch an exclusive sports channel in Slovakia in August that will show such competitions as the UEFA Champions League.
According to Digitalni Radio (rozhlas.cz), the move to launch the channel is being handled by O2 Czech Republic, which has already asked the Slovak regulator RRTV via its O2TV subsidiary for a satellite licence for the new channel.
It adds that O2, rather than Orange, is applying for the licence as it holds the broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League for both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Orange currently operates an IPTV service in Slovakia and there has been speculation in the local media for some months that it also plans to launch a DTH platform.
This would enter an already overcrowded satellite TV market offering such content as exclusive sports channels.
O2 Czech Republic has confirmed in a release that it has become the exclusive holder of rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia for three seasons, starting 2018/19.
It adds that in Slovakia, O2 will distribute the content through a new sports channel called Orange Sport, which will be available to all customers of the Slovak mobile network operator Orange.
Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, O2 will broadcast all the matches from the Champions League on its proprietary channels O2 TV Sport and O2 TV Fotbal.