Paraguay’s Cablevision is sold to Tigo

Iñaki Ferreras | 21-07-2012

Argentinian media group Grupo Clarin has finally got rid of its pay-TV operations in Paraguay, after selling Cablevision to mobile phone company Tigo for $150 million. The operation is still waiting for approval from regulators in Paraguay but is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Carlos Díaz, manager of institutional relations at Tigo, said the agreement provides for the transfer of control of Cablevision, CMM, TVD, and Teledeportes Unicanal, which has the national football rights at Tigo.

Since the beginning of the year there has been speculation that the Argentine consortium was seeking a way out of the pay-TV market. However, after a meeting held in February its executives with then-president's Office, Fernando Lugo, the company said it had submitted to the president an investment plan.

Days later, it emerged that the government was considering acquiring Cablevision through Telco Copaco, which since last year has been working to incorporate a subscription TV service itself, and finalised in early July through IPTV. At the time, the project failed due to the 'excessive' cost of purchase, reports “Prensario Internacional”.

And once Copaco left the negotiation, the only company with interest and the necessary buying power was Tigo, which, with the purchase of Cablevision, will become the third pay-TV operator in Paraguay.