NBC News will pay nearly $30 million for a 25 percent stake in European broadcaster Euronews, media reports say. The deal is expected to close this week, paving the way for a new France-based EuronewsNBC brand.
The new brand’s logo will incorporate NBC’s familiar peacock.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Euronews have been negotiating since last year, and the deal calls for the creation of a network of correspondents in all major European capitals. The 24-year-old Euronews traditionally broadcasts identical stories redubbed for local markets but will now run 12 distinct national channels, according to the news agency AFP.
“This is one of the most creative partnerships made in the last decade in the media industry,” Euronews CEO Michael Peters said. “We have seen a concentration of media investment and have had to review our business model and the way we offer [news] to consumers.”
Media Globe Networks will continue to be the majority shareholder in Euronews, and the existing public shareholders will remain in the company and continue to ensure its European focus and sensibility, the companies say.
Andrew Lack, Chairman of NBC News and MSNBC said, “If we had started with a blank slate we still could not have designed a better partner for NBC News as we look to strengthen our global reach. Euronews has unmatched scale as well as the unique ability to offer international coverage rooted in a local sensibility in every country and language it spans.”
NBC News International president Deborah Turness will oversee the new brand for NBC.
Euronews was created in 1993 to cover world news from a pan-European perspective. Headquartered in Lyon, France, it broadcasts 24/7 in English, French, Arabic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian.
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