On Thursday 29 February, on the occasion of the start of the new Formula 1 season, namely the Bahrain Grand Prix, the media group Nova will launch its next thematic channel Nova Sport 5, which will be joined by Nova Sport 6 on the weekend of 9 March. On this channel, viewers will see the Qatar Grand Prix as part of the Moto GP. Both channels will be in distribution from the end of this month, i.e. from 29 February, but Nova Sport 6 will be introduced with a live programme afterwards. Both stations have so far only been acquired by O2 TV.
At today's press conference, media group Nova presented the division of Nova Sport into three groups - Nova Sport 1 and 2, Nova Sport 3 and 4 and Nova Sport 5 and 6. It is not only about the division of competitions between the stations, but also about their pricing policy. While the first group of programmes is offered on our market by a number of operators, making them more accessible to them, only the biggest ones have already reached for the second group due to its price. Nova Sport 5 and Nova Sport 6 are another premium product for which Nova will let you pay.
To give you an idea, 4NET.TV services, a company from Pardubice, confirmed to MediaGuru.cz that Nova Sport 5 and Nova Sport 6 channels were offered to it, but at an unacceptable price range - in the order of hundreds of thousands of euros per year, i.e. several million crowns. "Such an offer does not make economic sense for our base. (...) It is obvious that the Nova group values the auctioned rights and knows their value," said David Kulda, director of 4NET.TV services.
According to our information, major market players are negotiating with Nova. However, only the shift with the Skylink operator regarding the Nova Sport 5 programme, which it will include in its offer, is known. Representatives of Canal+ are also negotiating with Nova about the inclusion of Nova Sport 6.
Negotiations are also underway with other operators. "We are negotiating with Nova about the inclusion of Nova Sport 5 and Nova Sport 6 in the Vodafone TV offer and we believe that we will find a solution," commented Ondřej Luštinec, spokesman for Vodafone. T-Mobile is in a similar situation.
"We do not comment on pricing policy or negotiations. It is a standard process. One of the conditions of the negotiations is the price, but it is not the only condition related to the distribution discussion," Michal Malenčík, Group Product & Strategy Director of parent CME, told MediaGuru.cz.
The channels Nova Sport 5 and Nova Sport 6 are not even on the Voyo platform, as well as Nova Sport 3 and Nova Sport 4.
Dusan Mendel, editor-in-chief of Nova's sports department, said at the press conference, "I believe that we will make these channels the top product on the market. I don't like to boast that we have the best, but it is true. We used to have no special sports programme, now we have several." He says there has been a long journey behind the development of both the Formula 1 and Moto GP projects, but it has paid off. Didier Stossel, CEO of the CME Group, added that the way Nova is now able to cover sport, and the breadth of the offer, is unique in Europe. The price for distribution is therefore not surprising.
Nova Sport channel offer:
- Nova Sport 1, 2 (with most operators) - NHL, NBA, NFL, football leagues, rugby, KSW (Polish MMA organisation)
- Nova Sport 3, 4 (big players in the market) - UEFA Champions League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, UEFA Super Cup, Coupe de France
- Nova Sport 5, 6 (O2 TV; Skylink so far only NS5) - Formula 1 on Nova Sport 5, Moto GP on Nova Sport 6; also World Superbike Championship, partly Bundesliga and La Liga matches, plus Formula 2, Formula 3 and all accompanying series
Source: mediaguru.cz
