VTV to auction part of K+ stake

The starting price is VND188.7 billion ($8.2 million). Domestic investors can participate in the auction slated for Jan. 13, 2022, the Hanoi Stock Exchange announced.

VTV has a 51-percent stake in VSTV. K+ is popular for its entertainment and sports content, especially international football tournaments for which it has exclusive broadcasting rights in the country.

VSTV was established in 2009 as a joint venture between Vietnam Cable Television Corporation (VTVcab) under VTV and France-based Canal+, one of Europe’s biggest premium television service providers. Now, VSTV has a charter capital of $20.1 million with 51 percent held by VTV and 49 percent by Canal+.

With capital limitations and increasingly fiercer competition in the pay TV market, VSTV made losses of over VND246 billion in 2019, VND265 billion in 2020 and VND194.6 billion in the first nine months of 2021. By the end of September, it had racked up accumulated losses of nearly VND3.75 trillion.

VSTV said it has had to lower subscription fees to compete with telecommunications firm that offer low-cost pay TV services based on their Internet services, and cross-border content providers such as Netflix, Amazon and Facebook. Rampant copyright violations in Vietnam have also hurt it, the firm said.