Seydoux has eye on TV web
Pathe exec looks for control in BSkyB, TF1
Speaking in Paris, Seydoux, whose Pathe group already has a 20% stake in digital operator Canal Satellite and 17% of BSkyB, said, "If TF1 was for sale, I would be (a) buyer." Insiders at France's leading private web said Wednesday that "the network is not for sale."
Pathe owns stakes in film production and distribution companies in France, the U.K. and Germany, as well as cinema circuits in France and the Netherlands. It also has a television production and sales division in addition to the satellite investments in Canal Satellite and BSkyB.
Broadcast dreams
But it appears that Seydoux believes that Pathe will not become a major European media player without a sizable stake in a TV broadcaster.
"Cinema is too weak in Europe to serve as the basis of a communication strategy," noted Seydoux. "The strength of the big European (media) groups is in television."
Despite a 23% rise in revenues last year to $377 million and a 13% rise in profits to $35 million, Seydoux admitted that analysts and Paris Bourse remain skeptical about the group's strategy of holding minority stakes. In addition, marketing costs and recruitment of new subscribers will weigh heavily on Canal Satellite's results this year.
The problem for Seydoux is finding a network that Pathe can run. There have been rumors for the past few months that the Bouygues group may be thinking about quitting TF1, but so far there have been nothing more than rumors. Similarly, London-based analysts have speculated over whether Granada will maintain its stake in BSkyB. Once again, such a move is not expected to be imminent, if it takes place at all.
