TV MARKET

Swedish entertainment group MTG, the biggest shareholder in Bulgaria's largest media conglomerate, consisting of Nova TV and Nova Broadcasting Group, announced on Monday it has terminated its agreement to sell its share to the Czech PFF Group, owned by businessman and media mogul Petr Kellner.

Greek telecommunications provider Wind Hellas on Thursday expressed certainty that it is on course for growth, as it seeks to expand its infrastructure and enter the pay-TV market.

The Greek pay-TV market suffered significant losses last year, as sales dropped off due to the burden on prices from tax increases. The decline became evident last summer, while some believe the negative impact on the market began to be felt as early as 2016.

The special tax on pay-TV services introduced last year has damaged what had been one of the country's few flourishing sectors, to the extent that growth in Greece's pay-TV market ground to a virtual halt in 2016, posting a negligible increase of 0.2 percent over the 2015 level.

Athens-listed Forthnet's chief executive Panos Papadopoulos explained on Monday why the imminent imposition of a special tax on pay TV in Greece will be "extremely harmful" to Greek pay-TV platforms, saying "it would create extremely burdensome conditions of unfair competition in favor of foreign companies that cannot be taxed in Greece."