Case Study MediaSet Espana

Popescu ElizaStrategic Management & Corporate politics

MEDIASET España

INTRODUCTION:

Mediaset España Comunicación, S.A. previously Gestevisión Telecinco, is a Spanish television network and media production company. It is the largest television network in Spain.

Gestevisión Telecinco was established on 10

March 1989, to participate in

the government auction of broadcasting licenses

announced by Felipe González's government

following the Ley de Televisión Privada (Law of

Commercial Television). Its first president was

Germán Sánchez Ruipérez and, with a capital

de 250 million pesetas, it's shareholding was

distributed as follows:

Fininvest, presided by Silvio

Berlusconi (25%);

Divercisa, belonging to the Organización

Nacional de Ciegos de España (ONCE),

presided by Miguel Durán (25%);

Sociedad Europea de Comunicación e

Información (CECISA), belonging to

Ediciones Anaya, presided by Germán

Sánchez Ruipérez (25%);

Juan Fernández Montreal, owner of Chocolates Trapa (15%);

Promociones Calle Mayor, of the property developer Ángel Medrano Cuesta (10%).

On August 25, 1989 Gestevisión Telecinco, along with Antena 3 Televisión and PRISA TV, were

issued a 10 year broadcasting license to operate a national, free-to-air, commercial television

channel. On March 3, 1990 Tele5 (as it was known then) began its initial broadcast.

In 1997 Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset acquired the majority of shares in Telecinco.[2]

The main director of Atlas, Chema Baptist, added maximum responsibility of Telecinco's internet

area and new business multiplatform to his duties. This decision was part of the company's policy

of harnessing content creation and management in new technologies, and it took place

immediately after the repurchase of 50% of his internet branch was finalised by Orange in 2001.

2009–present: Telecinco-Cuatro merger[edit]

On December 18, 2009, Mediaset, the controlling shareholder of Gestevisión Telecinco,

and PRISA, parent company of Sogecable, presented an agreement to merge their television

operations (Telecinco and Cuatro). Following this merger, Cuatro would be purchased in full by

Telecinco. As part of the deal, PRISA would buy newly issued shares of Gestevisión Telecinco,

giving it an 18% stake in the company.

This agreement made Gestevisión Telecinco the largest television network in Spain by audience

share. In total the group would operate eight free-to-

air channels:Telecinco, Cuatro, LaSiete, FactoríaDeFicción, LaNueve, CNN+ and CincoShop.

The board of directors of the enlarged Gestevisión Telecinco (which will keep the brands and

editorial structure of both Telecinco and Cuatro) has Alejandro Echevarria as a chairman

and Juan Luis Cebrián as a vicechairman, both non-executives; with two CEOs, Paolo

Vasile (programming) and Giuseppe Tringali (advertising). PRISA also has two CEOs and

nominates the vice-chairman of the operator.

As part of the agreement, Gestevisión Telecinco will take a 22% shareholding in

the Digital+ platform.[4][5]

On March 11, 2011 following the purchase of Cuatro and the creation of its newest

channel, Divinity, the company informed the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores to

amend the corporate name of the company from Gestevision Telecinco to Mediaset España

Comunicación.

Mediaset is a supporter of the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) initiative (a consortium

of broadcasting and Internet industry companies including SES,OpenTV and Institut für

Rundfunktechnik) that is promoting and establishing an open European standard for hybrid set-

top boxes for the reception of broadcast TV and broadband multimedia applications with a single

user interface, and has run pilot HbbTV services.[6]

Ownership

It is currently owned by Mediaset Investimenti (41.22%), PRISA (17.34%) and free-float (39.87%).

In 1997, the corporate identity was changed from Tele 5 to the current Telecinco, dropping

Berlusconi's flower logo in the process.

The Mediaset España consists of a set of companies engaged in business related to the audiovisual sector. The Groups main activity is the use of advertising spots on the television channels that it operates.

The company´s objective is to manage indirectly the Public Service TV and it offers six Television

channels:

Telecinco is the channel leader for all audiences. It´s goal is to entertain while recognizing effort

and social collaboration.

Cuatro  is the TV channel for young audiences with a broadcast programming based in docu-

realities, adventures, game shows, documentaries, coach programs and a careful selection of

foreign TV series.

Factoría de Ficción the core of FDF is fiction and the major compromise is to offer the best TV

series for all audiences.

Boing  is the channel with contents to entertain and to teach to the kids of the family.

Divinity  is the channel designed for the female audience and the first channel to be born from a

web site (divinity.es). It has become one of the most-watched channels by women 16 to 44. It´s

broadcast programming includes the most popular TV series for female audience, film content,

and it offers a wide range of realities and factuals.

Energy  a channel targeting a male

audience with sport, foreign TV series, action cinema films and docu-realities.

The Mediaset Group produces and broadcasts audiovisual contents from different platforms (tv

and internet) to develop them commercially through Publiespaña, Publimedia Management and

the Commercial area, accountable for the sale of rights, licences and derivatives.

In addition, the Mediaset Group produces cinema and operates in the field of audiovisual news

agencies. Telecinco Cinema, a cinematographic affiliated company of Mediaset España, has

produced world-class films , turning into a referent in the Spanish cinematographic industry.

However, the Mediaset España is not just involved in television. The company has various shares

in companies in the audiovisual sector, mainly in Spain, as well as in other countries. These

shares allow it to position itself and have contact with all areas related to their main business. It

also has significant shares in 23 different companies.

The main companies in the Mediaset España are those where more than 50% of voting rights are

directly or indirectly owned by the company, which gives them the capability to effectively control

them.

Fig 1. Mediaset Espana Sa - Income

Business units