Liberty Global’s first quarter results showed that German public broadcaster ARD paid €31.2 million to Unitymedia following the settlement of an ongoing carriage dispute, which is expected to throw a spanner in the works of public broadcasters’ cost savings discussions. The spat, settled at the start of April, stretched back to 1992 about whether cable TV operators HAD to carry ARD and ZDF channels. A Unitymedia spokesperson said to Broadband TV News: “The amount paid in Q1 is part of a comprehensive contract which also includes the settlement of previous legal disputes relating to carriage fees for the years since 2013.” Telecom Italia and Italian mass media company Mediaset have struck a content deal, allowing subscribers of the TIMvision VoD…