Naspers Limited (JSE:NPN) today announced it has made a strategic investment in MFD Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland (MFD), Germany’s pioneering mobile television company for an undisclosed amount. MFD’s mobile TV service, watcha, comprises five television channels and one visual radio channel. The company has established a broadcasting network in 16 metropolitan areas across Germany.
Naspers has been trialling mobile TV in South Africa and Africa over the past two years and has through these trials gained valuable technical and operational knowledge and expertise. MFD has also been working with Naspers subsidiary Irdeto since the launch of its mobile TV service in June 2006. Irdeto, a proven expert in content security, provides comprehensive solutions for content protection in digital TV, IPTV and mobile environments and is actively involved in numerous mobile TV projects in South Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia.
Commenting on the acquisition, Naspers Mobile Television CEO Kim Reid said, “We are enormously impressed by the excellent job MFD has done in building the market for mobile television in Germany. This is a promising market and cooperating with MFD gives us the opportunity to contribute our expertise in setting up and operating mobile television platforms and to participate in their growth.”
“We are delighted to have found in Naspers an investor whose strategic alignment and international experience we feel will benefit our company and the development of the mobile TV market in Germany,” MFD managing director Dr Jens Stender said.
Important legal information:
This press release contains forward-looking statements. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgements and future expectations, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to key factors that could adversely affect our businesses and financial performance. Naspers is not under any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligations to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Naspers:
Naspers is a multinational media company with principal operations in electronic media (including pay-television, internet and instant-messaging subscriber platforms and the provision of related technologies) and print media (including the publishing, distribution and printing of magazines, newspapers and books, and the provision of private education services). Naspers’ most significant operations are located in South Africa, where it generates most of its revenues, with other operations located elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Greece, China, the Netherlands, the United States and Thailand. Naspers creates media content, builds brand names around it, and manages the platforms distributing the content. Naspers delivers its content in a variety of forms and through a variety of channels, including television platforms, internet services, newspapers, magazines and books.
About MFD:
Founded in September 2005, MFD Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland GmbH is Germany’s first mobile TV provider. At the beginning of June of 2006 the independent company launched the commercial mobile television service watcha which enables television and radio content to be received on mobile devices such as telephones. The company, with offices in Dusseldorf and Cologne, has DMB broadcasting licenses for all of Germany. As a technology neutral provider the company has also applied for DVB-H broadcast licenses from local Federal State Media Authorities. watcha distribution partners include the service providers debitel, mobilcom and the Drillisch subsidiary simply.
Contacts:
Naspers Kim Reid,
CEO Mobile Television Platforms +27 11 289 3065 or +27 82 4999 766
