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United Group

Southeastern European telecom and mass media company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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For the engineering company formerly known as United Group, see UGL (company). For the Syrian media conglomerate, see United Group for Publishing Advertising and Marketing.

United Group B.V. is an alternative telecom provider in the Balkans that operates both telecommunications platforms and mass media outlets.

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History

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United Group was formed in 2007, as a Luxembourg-registered multinational entity, in a merger of Serbia Broadband (SBB) and two companies named Telemach, one in Slovenia and the other in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1] Telemach Montenegro became a part of United Group in 2014. Telemach acquired Tušmobil on 1 April 2015.[2] This being a cable acquisition of a mobile network makes it a unique case in the region, and the first step of United Group into providing all telecommunication services (landline, mobile, television, and internet) in one household.[3]

Today, United Group is the largest alternative pay television platform in the region of the former Yugoslavia, providing television, Internet, landline and mobile telephony to a large number of households and offices in the region through its cable, DTH and OTT platforms.[4][5]

In 2013, the group started its worldwide OTT platform, NetTV Plus, through which it provides Pay TV and landline telephony services to the former Yugoslav diaspora. As the group’s distribution platforms developed extensively throughout the region, the next step was entering the content and advertising sales business, today represented by United Media.

In March 2014, United Group was bought by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a leading global investment firm with headquarters in New York, and U.S. 94.3 billion in assets under management.[6][7] The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a co-investor in the company.[8]

In September 2018, a British private equity firm BC Partners began the process of acquisition of the majority stakes of United Group from KKR for an enterprise valuation of 2.6 billion euros.[9][10] The acquisition was finalized on 4 March 2019.[11]

On 24 December 2020, United Group announced they would buy Bulgaria's Nova Broadcasting Group;[12] the acquisition was completed on 22 January 2021.

On 2 April 2025, United Group sold SBB to e& PPF Group for 825 million euros. Sport Klub, Total TV and Net TV plus sold to Telekom Srbija for 652 million euros.

On 17 June 2025, founder and chairman of advisory board Dragan Šolak and CEO Victoriya Boklag were ousted from their respective posts and Stan Miller and Libor Vončina were named new CEO and deputy CEO respectively.

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Technological development

The company was the first to offer digital landline telephony services in 2012.[13][page needed] This was also the year United Group launched the first application for watching television and using TV services on different mobile devices.

In 2016, United Group established United Cloud, the in-house technology and software "innovation center".

In September 2017, Eon TV platform was launched, which allows viewers in Serbia to watch TV via a smart TV app.[14] In 2018, United Group launched Eon Smart Box, which was the first regional solution to combine television with Android services and applications.

In 2018, United Group also partnered with Fon Wireless to expand its Wi-Fi network and enable regional customers the access to more than 68 million Wi-Fi hotspots all over the world.[15]

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Telecommunication platforms

Today, United Group is the largest alternative pay television platform in the former Yugoslavia region, providing television, Internet, landline, and mobile telephony to a large number of households and offices in the region through its cable, DTH and OTT platforms.[16]

The Group provides services across four key brands:

  • Telemach – mobile provider, landline phone and Internet provider, TV services provider in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia.
  • Nova – Greek mobile provider, landline phone and Internet provider, TV services provider. It also owns several channels, namely Nova Cinema, Novasports, and Nova Life. These channels are offered only to satellite TV subscribers. The company comes from the merger of Nova with Wind Hellas which was acquired by United Group on August 16, 2021.
  • Vivacom – Bulgarian mobile provider, landline phone and Internet provider, TV services provider. Vivacom is the ex national Telecommunications provider of Bulgaria.

United Media

United Media is a combination of top Pay TV channels in the region (sports, movies, kids) and CAS Media providing clients with targeted media buying on most of the regional cable channels. United Media channel offer is available for cable, DTH, OTT, and IPTV distribution. In 2018, United Media announced the acquisition of Direct Media, a regional advertising agency.

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Advertising space

CAS Media is the largest agency for the sale of advertising space on cable and satellite channels in the region.

Documentaries

General entertainment

Children

Films

  • Cinemania
  • AXN
  • Cinestar
  • Cinestar Action
  • Diva TV
  • TV1000
  • Nova Max
  • Nova Series

News

  • N1 (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia)

Sports

  • Lov i ribolov
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Legal disputes & criticism

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When United Group announced its acquisition of Vivacom, the largest Bulgarian telecom, United Group was added to the list of defendants in a lawsuit by Empreno Ventures, which disputes the ownership of Vivacom and the sale of the company.[17]

When Vivacom announced that it would be buying smaller regional companies, it faced backlash from PPF, owner of Yettel Bulgaria, and A1 Bulgaria, since the acquisitions would give them a monopoly in multiple provinces, including Ruse, Silistra, Varna, Razgrad and Sofia.[18] Vivacom denied the claims that it was monopolising the market.[19]

In mid-August 2025, leaked internal communications and photos, published by OCCRP,[20] revealed that Stan Miller, the new CEO of United Group (appointed in June by its majority owner BC Partners), traveled to Belgrade for meetings with Vladimir Lučić, CEO of state-owned Telekom Srbija. These discussions reportedly focused on weakening United Media, particularly N1, one of the last independent broadcasters in Serbia.

Miller reportedly acknowledged that he understood the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's dissatisfaction with Subotić not having been dismissed yet but asked for more time, citing the need to implement other prior changes.[20]

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References

External links

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