BBC Player Expands European Reach

BBC Studios has clinched new partnerships to expand the reach of the BBC Player VOD service with COSMOTE TV in Greece, Slovak Telekom’s Magio TV in Slovakia and T-Mobile’s MAGENTA TV in the Czech Republic.

The deal with COSMOTE TV brings the player to Greece for the first time, allowing the streaming service’s subs to access a wealth of shows from BBC Studios, including Luther, Mammals, Putin: A Russian Spy Story, Top Gear and The Great British Bake Off. COSMOTE TV subscribers will also continue to receive the premium factual linear channel BBC Earth.

Slovak Telekom subscribers on Magio TV and Czech T-Mobile subscribers on MAGENTA TV will be able to access shows on-demand, including series from the BBC Earth and BBC First linear channels. BBC Player in Slovakia and Czech Republic will be localized in Czech with a mix of voice-over, subtitles and dubbing.

Bartosz Witak, general manager for the CEE and MENA region at BBC Studios, noted: “The growth of BBC Player in EMEA is a testament to the quality and appeal of BBC Studios content. We are excited to strengthen our partnership with COSMOTE TV, Slovak Telekom and T-Mobile Czech and complement our linear channels in the markets with a multi-genre VOD service. Subscribers will have the opportunity to explore the breadth of quality content available at their fingertips, I can’t wait for audiences to stream their new favorite shows.”

“Our partnership with BBC Studios continues to grow, with the addition of BBC Player to our streaming service and over 1,000 hours of high-quality TV content,” stated Dimitris Michalakis, executive director of COSMOTE TV. “With this partnership we offer even richer content at no extra cost to our customers, with BBC’s series, films and TV shows.”

“The deployment of BBC Player is the logical outcome of a mutually long-standing and collaborative relationship between our companies,” said Marcel Šatanek, tribe lead of TV and entertainment at Slovak Telekom. “BBC Studios content undoubtedly represents one of the most valuable libraries of European VOD content, supporting the preservation of Europe’s cultural audiovisual identity. We are extremely pleased to be able to contribute together with the BBC to ensure that viewers of our Magio TV service can also enjoy exciting dramas, unforgettable scenery and hundreds of hours of additional content from the comfort of their living rooms.”

“We are proud to consider MAGENTA TV the home of all premium BBC Studios content, and we’re excited to introduce BBC Player as a first in our region through this exclusive partnership,” added Zdeněk Spurný, TV and beyond the core tribe lead at T-Mobile Czech Republic. “It will be a great addition to our BBC Earth and BBC First channels, and a valuable asset to our brand new VOD service, Videoteka Premium.”

BBC Player is already available in Poland, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia.