Blue Entertainment AG (formerly known as CT Cinetrade AG) is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

media company owned by telecommunication provider

Swisscom Swisscom is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Its headquarters are located in Worblaufen near Bern. The Swiss government owns 51% of Swisscom. According to its own published data, Swisscom holds a market share of 56% for mob ...

. The company specialised in film and sport programming rights for television. Blue Entertainment's businesses include Blue+ (formerly known as

Teleclub Teleclub was a brand name of a premium television offering in Switzerland. Founded in 1982, it was one of the longest established providers of such in Europe. At present time the service is only available in Switzerland. The service is owned by ...

), which provides a group of premium-tier television channels; (formerly known as Kitag Cinemas), a chain of film theatres; and , a home entertainment distributor.

History

Stephan Sager founded CT Cinetrade AG in 1989. In 2005, Swisscom acquired a minority share in CT Cinetrade. In May 2013, Swisscom increased its share in CT Cinetrade from 49% to 75%. In November 2017, Swisscom acquired the remaining share of 25% in CT Cinetrade from its founder Stephan Sager.

Controversies

In 2016, the

Competition Commission of Switzerland The Competition Commission (COMCO) is the Swiss competition regulator. Created in 1995, the commission is subordinated to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research but operates independently. It is responsible for the en ...

fined Swisscom and what was known as Cinetrade back then an amount of 71.8 million

Swiss franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

s "for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the provision of national football and ice-hockey coverage between 2002 and 2012". In June 2022, the Federal Administrative Court confirmed the fine. Swisscom argued that it was expanding sport offerings beyond what were offered by rivals.

References

External links

About Blue
at blueplus.ch * {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.cinetrade.ch, title=Official website of CT Cinetrade 1989 establishments in Switzerland Mass media companies established in 1989 2017 mergers and acquisitions