Rostelecom and the National Media Group have entered into an agreement of intent to merge Wink video services and more.tv as part of a joint venture in which Rostelecom will receive 70% and NMG — 30% of the authorized capital. The combined business will operate under the Wink brand. This is stated in the message of the parties.
At the moment, it is planned to conduct assessments of the merged businesses and other necessary corporate procedures, following which the parties will finalize the parameters of the transaction and sign legally binding documents.
To solve operational issues, an integration committee will be created, which will include representatives of both sides. It will determine the principles of formation, business structure and management system of the joint venture. It is planned to gradually combine services, content libraries and client databases, as well as create a single competence center for producing and producing original content. Integration procedures should be completed by the end of 2022.
Until the integration procedures are completed, subscribers will continue to use Wink video services and more.tv on current terms. Further use of the brand more.TV will be determined based on the results of the work of the integration committee.
Wink combines the advantages of interactive television (more than 400 TV channels) and an online cinema with an excellent collection of movies, TV series, cartoons, concerts and other content for every taste (more than 60 thousand items). Wink is the basic online cinema for Rostelecom and Tele2 product lines, subscriptions to the video service are integrated into most of the operators' tariff plans. The Wink video service is included in the register of Russian software maintained by the Ministry of Finance of Russia.
more.tv — the online service of the National Media Group, which combined in one place its own projects in the more originals line, foreign premieres of TV series and films, exclusive content and live broadcast of popular Russian TV channels. Content can be viewed on the service for free with ads or in a single subscription. The service is available via a browser on any desktop computers and laptops, as well as in applications for iOS, Android, Android TV and Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV and LG Smart TV (webOS).
NMG is Russia's largest private media holding, established in 2008. NMG manages a diversified portfolio of assets in the production, distribution and monetization of high-quality media content in all consumer environments, contributing to the growth of their capitalization and competitiveness.
PJSC Rostelecom (TIN 7707049388) - the national long-distance operator - provides the transmission of the main share of intercity and international traffic, as well as the operation of the terrestrial network of television and radio broadcasting channels. The main shareholder of Rostelecom is the state.
Rostelecom's net profit under IFRS for 2021 increased by 26% to 31.8 billion rubles. compared to a year earlier. Revenue increased by 6% to 580.1 billion rubles, OIBDA increased by 13% to 218.8 billion rubles.
