MásMóvil reportedly teaming up with Huawei to launch TV service

Spanish mobile operator MásMóvil, the country’s fourth-largest telco, is planning to launch a TV service in partnership with Huawei, according to Spanish press.

According to financial daily El Español, citing two unnamed sources, the operator plans to launch an ‘open’ TV platform that will make third-party services such as Netflix, HBO and Amazon available via a hybrid Android-based set-top that will also give access to the country’s digital-terrestrial TV channels.

According to El Español, MásMóvil will also look to incorporate content from Sky. The UK-based pay TV giant has reportedly been planning to launch a version of its Now TV OTT TV service in the Spanish market for around €10 a month as part of a wider plan to launch OTT TV services in markets across Europe.

According to to El Español, the Android box to be deployed by MásMóvil will also give access to seven-day catch-up and cloud recording.

The paper says that the operator has also been in talks with Mediapro to include BeIN Sports, which airs coverage of Champions League football and a number of Spanish La Liga football matches, and potentially other football content. However, rival operators are likely to take a close interest in any agreements that would give MásMóvil an advantage in terms of the price it pays for premium sports content.

MásMóvil CEO Meinrad Spenger has previously expressed an ambition to offer TV as part of the service provider’s offering. The operator is the country’s number four in terms of subscribers, but is not as profitable as rival players and is likely to come under further pressure as Movistar and Vodafone seek to break into the low-cost mobile business via their Tuenti and Lowi services respectively.

MásMóvil, which expanded to its current size through acquiring low-cost mobile player Yoigo from under the nose of Zegona Communications, the UK-based owner of regional cable operator Telecable, may also come under further pressure from the combination of Basque Country cable operator Euskaltel and Telecable and their expansion into other parts of Spain and into the mobile business.