On the occasion of the presentation of the Mediaset 2018 schedules, Pier Silvio Berlusconi confirmed the state of health of the group after the last stormy months and described the news for next year. The CEO of the group touched on many topics, from the Mediaset Play platform to the topic of TV rights for the Champions League, passing through the recent acquisition of Radio Subasio.
The main Mediaset novelty for next year will certainly be Mediaset Play. It is an application, which will be launched between the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, which will allow users to clearly see Mediaset programming on smart TVs and on devices connected to the network with the classic methods of on-demand TV. The same service offered by Netflix, in order to understand each other. No decoders or dishes, but only content transmitted free of charge and within reach of smartphones.
The new platform will also broadcast specially created productions, as well as normal programming, and will include all of the group's current video streaming platforms, such as Mediaset on Demand and Mediaset.it.
Mediaset also closed the deal to merge Radio subasio within Radio Mediaset. This is a strategic operation, given that Subasio is a multi-regional radio station that is widely listened to in Central Italy and mainly focused on Italian music, thus capable of attracting a large number of listeners.
The acquisition of the was then announced during the press conference on Wednesday 5 July channel 20 of digital terrestrial to date of the TBS group. The channel will be thematic, and the name has not yet been defined.
Answering questions on the topic Champions League TV rights, Berlusconi and the CFO of the group – Marco Giordani – said they were willing to share the rights in the event of an interesting offer, considering the fact that from next year they will return to Sky.
In addition to the group's strategic moves, Pier Silivio Berlusconi also referred to the issue dealer: "Mediaset reported an increase in advertising sales in Italy of around 2% in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period of the previous year". Television has recorded a slight growth, while radio and digital platforms are growing faster. Observing the negative trend of the market, down by about three percentage points, Mediaset closes with a positive result and gains shares of the advertising market from 37,4 to 39%.
Berlusconi then announced that the group, after a last year closed in the red due to the Vivendi affair, will come back to use, although the distribution of dividends to shareholders cannot yet be assured with certainty.
