NBC acquires 25 percent stake in Euronews

The media service will be renamed Euronews NBC.

NBC has bought a 25 percent stake in the European news media service Euronews which will now be called Euronews NBC, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The move is part of a broader reorganization effort at NBC News, which is looking to compete internationally with rival network CNN.

The news comes on the same day that the European Commission signed a four-year agreement to continue funding the media service from 2018 until 2022.

The acquisition did not come as news to the Commission, which had been preparing for the takeover since last year. In December, POLITICO reported that Günther Oettinger, then European commissioner for the digital economy and society, met with NBC executives to discuss the partnership.

The Commission has yet to decide how much funding it will provide going forward and could cut funding if Euronews cuts any staff, languages or if any EU coverage is compromised. 

In 2016, according to its own estimates, the Commission gave Euronews around €24.7 million to support its language services and its television coverage of EU affairs.

A source told the New York Times that the 25 percent stake cost NBC $30 million.

Quentin Ariès contributed to this article.