MGM to Launch HD Channel in Israel

CANNES, April 9: MGM Networks,
a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, will debut a localized HD version of
The MGM Channel in Israel this month, marking the company’s third HD channel
launch in the last 18 months.

The standard-definition version of The
MGM Channel is currently available via cable
and satellite home across Israel. This month, The MGM Channel will begin
broadcasting as part of the HD basic tier of Israeli DTH platform YES. Over the
next several months, the new HD version will ramp up to a 24/7 simulcast of the
existing standard-definition channel. Like the standard-definition version of
The MGM Channel, the HD channel will be subtitled in Hebrew.

The MGM HD Channel in
Israel, along with its standard-definition counterpart, will be wholly owned by
MGM. Last October, MGM launched MGM HD in the U.S. The first HD launch for MGM
Networks was the company’s dedicated network for Poland in December 2006. MGM
HD joins four HD channels that are already available on YES.

“As high definition begins
to roll out all over the world, MGM plans to be at the forefront of this
compelling new medium,” stated Bruce Tuchman, the executive VP of MGM Networks.
“Alongside our HD channels in the U.S. and in Europe, we plan to continue to
aggressively expand our HD presence internationally, which is fuelled by the
incomparable experience of viewing choice selections from the MGM library, the
world’s largest modern film catalogue, broadcast in the clarity of this amazing
broadcast medium. We are also grateful to YES, Israel’s DTH satellite platform,
and Tel-Ad, one of Israel’s leading channel providers, for their support and
passion about this project, along with their many years of commitment to the
MGM standard definition business.”

—By Irene Lew