United Media takes 50% stake in Greece’s Alpha TV, Nova’s Silvestriadou joins board

South-east European group United Media (UM) has acquired a 50% equity stake in Greek commercial network Alpha TV as it looks to strengthen its presence in the European market.

Kiki Silvestriadou

UM, which broadcasts in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro, has received unconditional approval for the deal from the European Commission. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The remaining half of Alpha is owned by Greek petroleum company Motor Oil Hellas.

UM said the strategic transaction has seen it pick up “significant equity stakes in high-quality, strategically valuable media assets in Greece,” adding that the acquisition “aligns with United Media’s objective of strengthening its presence in the European market.”

Kiki Silvestriadou, CEO of UM-owned Nova Media, has been appointed deputy CEO and vice chair of the board of directors at Alpha. She will continue to head Greek pay TV platform Nova. George Lamprou has been appointed non-executive member of Alpha TV’s board of directors.

Alpha is one of Greece’s leading TV stations, broadcasting family-orientated programming across fiction, entertainment and formats, such as upcoming romantic comedy Save the Date and recently commissioned drama Mother.

It also own 50% of prodco Green Pixel, which produces a local-language version of The 1% Club.

UM is part of United Group and has a presence in eight countries. The company has more than 60 TV channels within its media portfolio and creates around 40,000 hours of original content each year.