Vodafone inks deal to offer Mediaset content to Italian clients
MILAN (Reuters) - British mobile phone giant Vodafone has reached an agreement with Mediaset to offer pay-TV content of the Italian broadcaster to its customers in the southern European country, the two companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The offer, which bundles voice and data services with content such as live Champions League soccer matches, movies and TV series, is immediately available at a monthly fee of 39 euros ($43), they said. Lower-priced bundles are also offered.
Like other telecoms operators, Vodafone is expanding its media offer in contrast to the fall of traditional phone services challenged by online rivals such as messaging application WhatsApp.
Mediaset content will be carried through Vodafone's 4G network which covers 88 percent of Italy's population and is available in 4,700 cities.
Telecom Italia, Italy's largest phone operator whose biggest investor is French media group Vivendi, is currently offering its clients the full content of Sky Italia, the Italian arm of Britain's Sky.
($1 = 0.9049 euros)
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
