Triple Play for two

Digital TV Ringier and Swisscom join forces: the telecommunications giant acquires a 49% stake in Cinetrade AG, in whose subsidiary Teleclub Ringier in turn holds a one-third stake. Swisscom is thus pushing ahead with its "triple play" strategy: TV via ADSL as a third pillar alongside telephony and Internet. Cinetrade, which also owns the cinema operator Kitag and the DVD distributor PlazaMedia, is intended to secure access to attractive content for Swisscom television, and Ringier also expects benefits. "We are delighted to have a new partner," says TV boss Fibo Deutsch. For Ringier, Teleclub has already been the foot in the door of the digital world. Now Deutsch wants to open the door even wider: "Swisscom is looking for content for its television offering. We would of course like to produce this with Ringier TV."
The Competition Commission has a say in the matter. At the time of going to press, it had not yet decided whether the Cinetrade deal is notifiable.
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