CANAL+ and TVN begin merger of 'n' and CYFRA+ in Poland

nC+ The leading premium pay TV platform in Poland

WARSAW — CANAL+ Group and TVN GROUP announce the closing of their strategic partnership agreements and start to merge their PAY-TV platforms n and CYFRA+, by creating nc+, Poland’s leading premium PAY-TV operator.

The creation of nc+ marks the final step of TVN’s PAY-TV market consolidation strategy, enabling the TVN Group to benefit from important synergies, driven by revenue growth and cost optimization, whilst securing its content distribution.

Effective December 1, Mr. Julien Verley, currently Senior Vice-President Finance and Strategy of CANAL+ Group in France, is joining TVN Group, and has been nominated by TVN Group as the CEO of nc+.

“The merger between n and CYFRA+ creates substantial value for our shareholders and allows TVN Group to benefit from the strategic cooperation with CANAL+ Group whilst securing TVN’s content distribution on the leading premium PAY-TV platform nc+. I am very pleased that Julien Verley has joined the TVN Group and agreed to take over the CEO position at nc+. His deep industry knowledge and profound experience in the Polish PAY-TV market supported by a first class management team ensures a smooth merger execution.” – said Markus Tellenbach, President and CEO of TVN Group.

“The merger of ‘n’ and CYFRA+ creates a leading company in a very competitive PAY-TV market. With outstanding content, state-of-the art technology and experienced teams of employees, the new nc+ platform will appeal to a large number of Polish households. With the backing of two major TV companies, CANAL+ Group and TVN Group, nc+ will have all necessary means to grow its business and deliver to its customers the best TV experience in the Polish market.” – said Julien Verley, CEO of nc+.

According to the terms of the strategic cooperation agreements, TVN Group holds a 32% stake in nc+, CANAL+ Group holds a 51% stake and LGI Ventures (UPC) holds a 17% stake in nc+.

TVN Group owns digital pay-tv platform “n” which will be combined starting December 1, 2012 with CYFRA+, creating Poland’s leading Permium Pay-TV platform nc+.

Pay-tv platform n — the biggest HD Pay-TV platform in Poland — had its debut on the market in 2006, positioning itself as the most technologically advanced one in the country as well as in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Pay-TV platform n has enabled simultaneous reception of HD channels, Personal Video Recorder (PVR), and provided access to Video on Demand (VOD). Additionally, as the first platform in Poland, n has launched a 3D service called nShow3D, which guarantees the access to the “third dimension” entertainment.

Presently the Pay-TV platform n offers e.g.: MONSTERBOX HD – an award winning decoder with DVR, equipped with a 1 TB hard disk drive , nVOD NET service which converts the decoder into a multimedia home entertainment centre, recording on the Internet and mobile phone, Multiroom HD service, a special Platform n offer with Orange Free Internet, YouTube, nRadio (over 400 internet radio stations), nPortal (which enables parallel TV viewing and news browsing) or nGry- a service dedicated to games amateurs.

The Pay-TV platform n is not only technological leader, but also provider of diversified TV content at the highest level. The Platform offers up to 40 HD channels, the best football – the Champions League UEFA, the European League UEFA and the Italian League, the latest movies from 20th Century Fox, Monolith Films, Paramount Pictures, an impressive choice of more than 30 film channels and over 6000 titles in the VOD library. In addition, the most popular Polish hit movies, most acclaimed documentaries and wildlife programs. The offer contains also a unique VOD collection – nSeriale, which includes the greatest TV drama series productions available shortly after the world premiere in the US accompanied by Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.