DNA gets green light for sale of terrestrial pay TV unit

Finnish cable and telecom operator DNA has secured a regulatory green light for the sale of its digital-terrestrial pay TV business to rival digital-terrestrial platform operator Digita.

The transfer of the DTT business to Digita will now be completed on January 1 2020.

DNA said that its DTT offering is a small part of its overall TV business and that it would continue to be the leading cable pay TV provider in the country after the sale, with over 600,000 customers on cable and broadband.

DNA has agreed to continue to sell digital-terrestrial pay TV from Digita through its sale network as a Digita partner.

The two companies did not disclose terms of the sale.

DNA struck a deal for the sale to Digita in July. DNA consumer business chief Pekka Väisänen said at the time that DNA recognised that Digita was best-placed to manage the digital-terrestrial business and develop the service. He said that DNA had agreed to continue to sell the combined service through its sales network as Digita’s partner.

DNA had previously been involved in a protracted dispute with public broadcaster Yle over the latter’s procurement of DTT distribution services. The service provider filed a complaint last year that Yle’s procurement process for DVB-T2 distribution of its channels was discriminatory because it allocated responsibility for ensuring that properties are equipped with antennas on the network operator – something that DNA said would unfairly penalise it, as VHF frequencies require separate VHF antennas on premises.

The operator secured a delay in the process last October in a move that attracted criticism from Yle and other broadcasters for holding up the DVB-T2 rollout, and by extension, the rollout of 4K UHD TV services on the terrestrial network.

DNA won a legal victory in January when Finland’s market court prohibited Yle from continuing with its current procurement procedure.