| The
Warner TV service in the UK features episodes
of several shows including The West Wing,
Nip/Tuck, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
The O.C.; Joey, sci-fi thriller
Babylon 5; drama series Close to
Home and comedy All of Us.
Warner
Bros. International Television [president
Jeffrey R. Schlesinger says, "We're
thrilled to launch Warner TV in the UK with
Virgin and BT as our valued partners in
bringing this new branded entertainment
service to UK consumers.
"We
remain committed to finding new and innovative
ways to make our programming accessible
to viewers at their convenience, and we
are excited to continue delivering quality
motion pictures and television programs
from Warner Bros. to audiences around the
world via these branded channels."
WBITD
has previously announced a deal with Japan's
Usen for a Warner TV channel on Usen's ad-supported
broadband broadcasting service, GyaO. Warner
TV launched on GyaO in September, featuring
motion pictures including all four Lethal
Weapon films and The Island, as well as
episodes of Friends, ER and
The West Wing. More than 100 Warner
Bros. titles are scheduled for release on
Warner TV on GyaO, as well as via Usen's
SVod service, GyaO Next.
This
service is available on the open Internet
but geo-filtered for Japan only to protect
rights holders of the programming outside
of Japan. There is no charge to the user
of GyaO for viewing the programming. However,
it will be viewed with advertising that
cannot be skipped.
Additionally,
the Studio launched another Warner TV service
on the Free IPTV platform in France on a
subscription basis. Soft launched in July,
this service has already attracted over
25,000 subscribers. This service is a combination
of feature films and television series made
available after their initial telecast on
linear terrestrial broadcasters.
A
second deal has also been closed in France
with Orange, which will see a series-based
Warner TV zone launched on their IPTV television
on-demand service later this year.
Schlesinger adds, "We also plan to
announce a number of other branded SVod,
AVod and linear channels in a variety of
countries during the upcoming months. Many
of these negotiations are in final stages
and will be completed shortly. We feel these
new services will be a compelling offering
for digital cable platforms, IPTV operators
and broadband aggregators looking for high-quality
programming with a world-class entertainment
brand.
"The
fact that in most countries outside Latin
America there is not a Warner linear channel
makes this offering even more appealing
as it will be viewed as something new and
distinct by subscribers and viewers."
The
launch of these channels follows the long-term
success of the Warner Channel in Latin America,
a linear branded programming service delivering
movies, television series and animation
to more than 20 countries throughout Latin
America. Programming available via Warner
Channel includes current TV series Without
a Trace, Two and a Half Men,
ER, Gossip Girl, Chuck,
Smallville, Supernatural and
The New Adventures of Old Christine.
|
