Austrian billionaire and Red Bull Founder Dietrich Mateschitz "has had enough from the losses of his company’s free-to-air channel Servus TV" and pulled the emergency brake, according to Jörn Krieger of BROADBAND TV NEWS. The channel "will be closed down this year." A statement said, "Despite having invested nearly a three-digit million euro amount into Servus TV year after year, no really positive development can be expected in the current market and competition situation seven years after launch. The channel has therefore become economically unsustainable for our company. In compliance with the diligence of a prudent businessman, we have decided to close down the operation of Servus TV." No closing date "has been given yet." The statement said that broadcasts "will continue without restrictions for the time being" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 5/3). C21 MEDIA's Andy Dickens wrote Mateschitz said that sister magazine Servus in Stadt & Land "has not been affected by the move." The news will come "as a blow to the Austrian production landscape as Servus has been pumping millions of euros into the market, with some production companies relying heavily on commissions from the channel." Only last month, Servus "appointed Ferdinand Wegscheider as its new station chief" (C21 MEDIA, 5/3).
