Info Canal plus moves on south african pay-tv broadcaster

CANAL PLUS MOVES ON SOUTH AFRICAN PAY-TV BROADCASTER





PARIS: French pay-TV operator Canal Plus, owned by media and telecoms group Vivendi, is in negotiations to acquire its South African counterpart GTV, according to reports in newspaper Le Figaro.

Canal Plus is in talks with GTV's owner Gateway Communications, the latter's asking price estimated at around $100 million (€71m; £67m).

According to figures published in Le Figaro, GTV currently has 100,000 subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa, and made a loss of $30,000 on sales of around $10 million in the last quarter.

It is estimated GTV will need to increase its subscriber base to 400,000 to break even, with the introduction of an English-language service thought to be one option under consideration by Canal Plus Overseas.