Media reports suggest plans for a possible pay-TV partnership between commercial broadcaster Mediaset and Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera are firming up. This follows similar speculation over the summer.

The partnership would be based on Mediaset’s existing pay-TV platform, Mediaset Premium, which is available on DTT nationwide. The renewed speculation has boosted the value of Mediaset shares on the Milan Stock Exchange, as a new partner could help reduce Mediaset Premium’s debts (losses in 2011 amounted to €70 million).

However some analysts fear that, in the long term, the arrival of a new player on the Italian TV market could have negative effects on Mediaset’s advertising revenue. In fact, since the start of 2012, Mediaset has seen ad revenue drop by 10.5 per cent.

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