The new Euronews NBC entity will incorporate the NBC peacock logo into its brand | Euronews NBC and Euronews finally ready to seal deal

NBC News will tomorrow close a €25 million transaction to purchase a 25 percent stake of Euronews, a European media company that claims 52 million daily TV viewers and digital users in 158 countries.

The acquisition is the latest in a series of recent NBC investments, including stakes in Snapchat, Vox and Buzzfeed.

Company executives told POLITICO a Euronews board meeting Thursday morning will confirm a plan to infuse the multilingual network with NBC’s global reach and production values.

Staff representatives were informed of the details of the plan this afternoon. The negotiation “has not been easy” Euronews CEO Michael Peters said.

The Lyon-based company company plans to invest in a beefed-up Brussels newsroom in Brussels and web and mobile content.

“Lyon is the engine room, Brussels will be increasingly important,” said Deborah Turness, President of NBC News International.

Peters promised an investment budget “with six zeros to build a network of correspondents in the critical capitals of Europe.”

The company’s TV and digital platforms will be co-branded Euronews NBC.

Media Globe Networks will continue to be the majority shareholder in Euronews, and its editorial board will continue to be composed of representatives of public broadcasters that hold minority stakes in the company. Peters and Turness will lead the transition to the new network.

‘All Views’ editorial philosophy

Euronews benefits from a multi-million euro four-year funding contract with the European Commission, and said it would maintain its commitments to the Commission. “Multiculturalism must be at the heart of everything,” Peters said.

Turness did not hide her enthusiasm for the deal when speaking to reporters in Brussels. “When has there been a better moment to invest in telling Europe’s story? We want to tell that story and to tell it from every point of view,” she said.

“I’ve been a fan of “No Comment” all my life. I think it was ahead of its time,” Turness said of a distinctive Euronews product which broadcasts footage free from journalist commentary, and has baffled some viewers.

Peters and Turness said they plan to introduce new programs and formats to the Euronews NBC line-up, including more debates, panels and views from outside Europe’s political capitals.

The pair rejected suggestions Euronews will be dominated by American perspectives as a result of the deal.

“We are committed to telling European stories,” said Turness, a British citizen who speaks fluent French. “When we talk to an American correspondent it will be to ask questions that Europe needs the answer to,” she said.

The most difficult change they will attempt: fully customised offers in each of Euronews’ 12 broadcast languages.

The network also plans to target its journalism via a set of “content vertical offers” that will include travel, european affairs, european culture, and science.

By the numbers

The deal is small by the standards of global media mergers, and compared to recent investments in cross-border television networks.

NBC invested $500 million in Snapchat, and more than $200 million in Buzzfeed. The Financial Times reported that the annual running costs of TRT World — Turkey’s fledgling effort to compete with the likes of BBC, CNN, RT and Euronews — are around €150 million.

“We plan to break even 2020,” said CEO Peters, including via an effort to “double advertising revenue in the coming five years.”

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