beIN Media Group has acquired DP Acquisitions B.V., the holding company of the Turkish digital platform group operating under the name Digiturk.
beIN MEDIA GROUP is a diversified media company active in both sports and entertainment. Its assets include beIN SPORTS, a premium and leading television network present in around 36 countries in North America, MENA, Europe and Asia through 38 channels. In November 2015 a new platform was launched in MENA including 28 beIN owned channels with 20 related to sports, 4 to movies and 4 to kids, in addition to growing numbers of third party channels. In March 2016, beIN acquired MIRAMAX film studios offering movie production capabilities and a library of over 700 films to the group.
Digiturk is a pay-TV operator in Turkey with approximately 3.3 million subscribers, offering a mix of sports and entertainment content across 219 standard and high definition national channels. Digiturk also carries a broad spectrum of channels to suit the diverse viewing demographics of the Turkish marketplace, including the Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, E! Entertainment, MTV, CNBC, Animal Planet, National Geographic, and CNN.
“This acquisition represents the largest deal in the history of our group and a major milestone in our global expansion. Furthermore, this acquisition underscores our commitment to provide the highest quality broadcast experience in high growth potential and mature markets. Neighbouring the MENA region and within close proximity to our key markets in Europe and Asia, our expansion in Turkey is an essential next step for the beIN MEDIA GROUP. Digiturk positions us as a leader in the fast growing Turkish market and offers tremendous business opportunities in the years ahead. We look forward to further strengthening the Digiturk platform and advancing the exciting dynamics of the digital publishing and Sports market in Turkey with our global experience,” commented Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, beIN Media Group.