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The 2.1 million clients of Comhem and Boxers are at risk of losing the channels of TV4 and C More again as of 11:59 p.m. tonight.
The owners of TV4, Telia, and Comhem, owned by Tele2, have not yet reached an agreement on a new deal, with the old one expiring at midnight.
– We will fight to the end to extend the current agreement or to achieve a new agreement, but unfortunately we are not close enough, says Joel Ibson, Communications Manager at Comhem / Tele2.
Comhem is now preparing its clients (2.1 million households) with compensation packages before the expected shutdown of TV4 and other Telia channels.
TV4: “Boring threats”
TV4 considers the threat of extinction to be “very sad” and a “remarkable” negotiating tactic on Comhem’s part.
“The pricing framework for what we are negotiating is in line with the commitments Telia made when it bought TV4,” writes Charlie Forsberg in a text message and continues:
“It is notable that ComHem is trying to round out the frames by exploiting its size and threatening to shut it down, making both its own clients and our viewers a pawn in the bargaining game.”
Charlie Forsberg adds that the TV4 channel will continue to stream freely on TV4 Play if Comhem is shut down.
The conflict between Comhem / Tele2 and TV4 / Telia
In early December 2019, Telia acquired TV4 and C More, then Bonnier Broadcasting.
The new owners ended up in a major contractual dispute over so-called OTT rights, that is, the rights to display TV channels on digital platforms, with Comhem.
When the companies disagreed, this caused TV4 channels to be shut down by just over 1.6 million Comhem customers shortly after midnight on December 11.
Several of TV4’s big Christmas shows came under pressure during the negotiations and, according to Expressen’s calculations, with the help of industry sources, the TV channel lost up to one million kronor per hour as a result of the closure of Comhem.
However, just over a week ago, the parties agreed and Comhem began broadcasting TV4’s offer on its network again.
In January, Comhem notified Telia to the European Commission as they considered that Telia was violating the terms of Telia’s acquisition of Bonnier Broadcasting in terms of broadcast rights.
In March, it became clear that Comhem customers were unable to watch several TV4 channels: TV4 Fakta, TV4 Guld and TV4 Film.
TV4 can be turned off for Comhem customers:
TV4 may be shut down for 2.1 million Comhem customers tonight, Comhem claims.
