Telecom Italia (TIM) and Mediaset should reach an industrial agreement combining the operator’s network with the broadcaster’s content, according to Italy’s undersecretary for economic development in charge of telecommunications Antonello Giacomelli. In an interview with Italian daily La Stampa, the government official described an agreement that “would allow both companies to grow” as “desirable” as long as the Italian character of such a deal was clearly present.
Giacomelli’s comments come after Italian communications watchdog Agcom in April told French media giant Vivendi to reduce its stake in Telecom Italia or Mediaset within 12 months or face a fine equivalent to between 2 and 5 percent of its revenues. Vivendi currently owns 23.9 percent of TIM and 29 percent of Mediaset and Vivendi's chief executive and TIM executive chairman Arnaud de Puyfontaine has frequently reiterated the company’s ambition to build a southern European media powerhouse to compete with US rivals such as Netflix and Fox.
