Deutsche Telekom Bets on Disney Content in Fight With Vodafone
Deutsche Telekom is pursuing a deal for TV content from Walt Disney to fend off a growing competitive threat from Vodafone.
(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG is pursuing a deal for TV content from Walt Disney Co. to fend off a growing competitive threat from U.K.-based Vodafone Group Plc.
Deutsche Telekom is in talks with the U.S. entertainment giant to get the Disney+ streaming service onto its MagentaTV platform, according to Michael Hagspihl, a board member at the Bonn-based phone company.
“I’m sure we’ll reach a reasonable outcome” with Disney, Hagspihl said in a phone interview. “Our goal is to be the platform that aggregates the most partners.”
Competition for TV viewers in Europe’s biggest economy has got tougher since Vodafone bought cable assets from Liberty Global Plc that included a rival TV product, Unitymedia TV. Deutsche Telekom is aiming for 5 million subscribers for MagentaTV by 2022, up from about 3.7 million currently.
MagentaTV already carries services including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Disney+ makes its European debut on March 24, offering shows including the Star Wars spinoff “The Mandalorian.”
Vodafone has about 13.6 million TV customers in Germany and also carries Netflix. Several TV providers are striking deals for Disney+ as it tries to build reach in Europe.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jennifer Ryan at jryan13@bloomberg.net, Thomas Pfeiffer
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