Canal Plus Closes Deal To Buy Majority Stake In Broadcaster SPI International
deadline.comFrench major Canal Plus has finalized an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Netherlands-based broadcaster SPI International.The deal, first reported in September 2021, sees the Vivendi-owned French outfit acquire 70% of SPI.
It has now been cleared by regulatory authorities and can be made official.SPI operates 42 TV channels across six continents.
Its brands include FilmBox, Film1, Kino Polska and the Polish streamer Dizi. Founders Loni Farhi and Berk Uziyel will continue to steer the company, with the current management team and operational structure remaining intact, the companies said.In a release, Canal Plus said the move would allow it to strengthen its pay-TV offerings in all European markets, as well as allowing SPI’s content to be distributed to a wider market.“The acquisition of SPI International is a is part of the strategy we have been implementing for several years Canal+ currently has 22 million subscribers in over 40 countries, including 15 in Europe.
We have set ourselves the goal of reaching a minimum of 30 million subscribers by 2025, and SPI International will certainly be a key asset in achieving this ambition,” said Canal Plus Group Chief Maxime Saada when the deal was initially announced.New and returning series on broadcast, cable and streamingSeries that made it or didn’t make it in 2020-21Broadcast networks’ fall lineups and schedules
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