Cyprus follows Romania and Hungary in BBC Knowledge roll out in CEE region
Click to tweet: #BBCKnowledge to launch on #Cablenet #Cyprus on 1 February 2013 http://bbc.in/U2fZxR via @BBCWpress
BBC Worldwide Channels and Cablenet today announced a brand new distribution deal that will see the launch of BBC Knowledge in Cyprus for the first time from 1st February 2013. This deal follows in the footsteps of BBC Knowledge launching for the first time in Romania and Hungary in January and is the third milestone in an ambitious roll-out plan for the channel across the CEE region in 2013.
The new agreement with Cablenet will see BBC Knowledge join BBC Entertainment, bolstering the BBC’s international portfolio and overseas presence in the CEE market. BBC Knowledge will be available in the Basic package on Digital cable, reaching over 6,500 subscribers in Cyprus. BBC Entertainment and BBC World News continue to be available in the Basic package on analogue and digital cable reaching over 35,000 subscribers.
Ian McDonough, Senior Vice President and General Manager EMEA, BBC Worldwide Channels commented: “We are delighted to announce that BBC Knowledge will air in Cyprus from 1st February 2013. As we’ve already seen with recent deals in Romania and Hungary, there’s a huge appetite in the Central and Eastern European market for the kind of quality content the BBC has to offer. We are looking forward to bringing our award-winning, factual programming to viewers in Cyprus, and to this latest exciting chapter in the story of BBC channels in the CEE region.”
Mr. Nicolas Shiacolas, Managing Director of Cablenet, commented: “It is our constant goal to enrich our TV bouquets with quality channels, ensuring we continually offer our customers better value. The BBC has always stood for and offered the very best in TV entertainment, so we are truly pleased that BBC Knowledge has become available for Cyprus and we can add it to our digital service.”
BBC Knowledge showcases the very best of British factual and natural history programming. Programmes include the epic series Wonders of the Universe in which Professor Brian Cox explores the link between humanity and the origins of the universe, Richard Hammond’s Crash Course which follows the Top Gear presenter take on America’s biggest working vehicles and the major global viewing astronomical event Stargazing, an original co-commission exclusive to BBC Knowledge.
The pan regional BBC Entertainment channel already available in market, offers the very best of British comedy and drama from the BBC and leading UK independents. Programmes include brand new and exclusive Alan Carr - Chatty Man, which airs just two weeks behind the UK, award-winning dramas such as Sherlock and Luther and critically acclaimed comedies such as Friday Night Dinner.
BBC Entertainment is already shown on Cablenet in English, and BBC Knowledge will follow its lead.
This new distribution partnership with Cablenet in Cyprus, effective from 1st February 2013, arrives shortly after BBC Knowledge launched for the very first time on RCS & RDS in Romania, DIGI in Hungary on 01st January 2013 and Romania’s Romtelecom on 3rd January 2013.
For further information:
UK
Charlotte Scarborough
charlotte.scarborough@bbc.com
Cyprus
Nasia Leonidou
marketing@cablenetcy.net
Notes to Editors:
About BBC Worldwide Ltd. BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to exploit the value of the BBC’s assets for the benefit of the licence fee payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has five core businesses: Channels, Content & Production, Sales & Distribution, Consumer Products and Global Brands. In 2011/12, BBC Worldwide generated headline profits of £155 million on headline sales of £1085 million and returned £216 million to the BBC. For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review website: http://www.bbcworldwide.com/annualreview.
About Cablenet Cyprus. Cablenet is the only independent alternative telecommunications provider in Cyprus offering broadband, fixed telephony and television services through its wholly owned cable infrastructure. Cablenet has managed to build a remarkable telecommunications network from scratch, both nationally as well as abroad. It operates a pioneering Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) cable network which is fully upgraded to DOCSIS3.0 and is hence considered to be a Next Generation Network or NGN. This remarkable network offers broadband speed that can exceed 200Mbps per connection and supports multiple HD TV channels. Internationally, Cablenet maintains Points of Presence in the most important European interchange cities, with multiple connections between these centers and Cyprus, so as to ensure the protection of services and to optimize data routing. For more detailed information please visit www.cablenet.com.cy.
The BBC has always stood for and offered the very best in TV entertainment, so we are truly pleased that BBC Knowledge has become available for Cyprus and we can add it to our digital service.”
