(30 October 2006 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: On the heels of the luanch of the channel Vom HD launch at the recently concluded television trade eevnt in Mipcom, France Rainbow HD Holdings, a subsidiary of Rainbow Media has broadened the global channel’s reach with a new distribution agreement.

Rainbow has tapped Zonemedia to sell the channel throughout much of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.

Voom HD offers the international marketplace a lineup of high-definition (HD) programmes selected from Voom HD Networks’ 15 thematic HD channels in the US. Its content includes signature programming from Equator HD ( places and people), Gallery HD ( stories from the art world), Gameplay HD (video gaming in HD), Rave HD, (live music in 5.1 surround sound), Rush HD (adventure sports), Treasure HD (people with a passion for collecting) and Ultra HD (fashion and luxury lifestyle).

Rainbow Media senior VP business development Glenn Oakley says, “As we strategized the best possible distribution for Voom HD, Zonemedia emerged as a particularly solid choice because of its strong track record in successfully delivering third-party channels throughout the world. Voom HD’s vast array of quality high-definition programming has great appeal to the international marketplace, and we believe Zonemedia will exploit this to the fullest.”

TVOOM HD is already set for a November 1 launch in Scandinavia through a deal made by distribution company NonStop Television with Canal Digital. Today’s news opens the channel for business throughout even more of the world, with carriage deals already in the works for possible announcement over the next few months.

In addition to its impending launch in Scandinavia, three Voom branded channels have been launched in Canada, operated by High Fidelity TV: Treasure HD, Equator HD and Rush HD. Korea's SkyHD recently deployed a daily primetime Voom HD branded programming block this past September.

Since launching its global expansion initiative at Mipcom last year, Rainbow Media has also sold over 1,000 hours of programming from its Voom HD, WE tv, Mag Rack and sportskool brands to broadcasters around the world, including India, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, UK and Australia.