No sign of solution in the Canal Digital controversy – Trønder-Avisa

– There is contact between the parties, and we are negotiating yet. But the parties are far apart, says communications director Espen Skoland Discovery Networks Norway NTB Friday afternoon.

After the NTB experience, Telenor and Canal Digital offered Discovery prices to rise by 10 cents per customer per month in the new agreement period. 1 penny and 20 cents in the year however is an ocean away Discovery original offer of 20 million each year – initially described as no more than “a cup of coffee.”

Discovery Networks let on Wednesday presented a new offer to the solution, but neither side has wanted to comment on what this means.

1 million customers

was at midnight on Monday that cable and satellite customers of Telenor-owned Canal Digital and Viasat in lost channel package from Discovery. The parties had failed to agree on a new deal for channel package that includes TV Norge, Eurosport, Max and ten Discovery channels.
Around 1 million subscribers at Canal Digital is affected by black screens on the 13 channel slots.

Discovery has shown that Telenor currently pay far less for their content in the market than the other distributors and that what they ask for, only a fair market price. Telenor and Canal Digital have in turn called the price increase as Discovery negotiation team originally requested, as totally unreasonable.

– There is little TVNorge we meet. We meet a large American media corporation. We hope of course in the quickest possible solution, says communications director Kenneth Tjønndal Pettersen Canal Digital Norway Friday afternoon.

Both parties

Telenor and Canal Digital have pointed out that Discovery would like more than one price increase equivalent to a cup of coffee to only 20 million. An increase of 20 million each year in all five years of the contract period will be 100 million. Pettersen has designated the proverbial cup of coffee as Norway Historiens expensive. Nevertheless, he is aware that there rests a responsibility also on the distributor in the difficult negotiations.

– It is clear that both parties has to move if we are to reach our goal, he admits.

While the negotiations in progress, Canal Digital has chosen to give its customers access to the 13 channels through Discovery’s own web service Dplay.

– All customers have TVNorges pouring service to watch these channels. We pay the bill for February, which we naturally think TVNorge itself should have done, says Pettersen.