Buena Vista and Film1 Sign Pay-TV Deal for the Netherlands

LONDON/AMSTERDAM,
September 19: chellomedia’s pay-TV service in the Netherlands, Film1, has
signed multi-year agreements with Buena Vista International Television (BVITV).

In the first of two deals,
Film1 acquired the rights to movies from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone
Pictures and Miramax for its premium pay-TV services,
carried on all major cable and DTH operators’ networks in the Netherlands, and
also for Film1’s subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, planned to launch
in 2007 for its existing Film1 subscribers. Film1 will offer these movies in
high definition.

“We will work closely with
chellomedia to launch this wide range of hit entertainment across these
multiple platforms, and to help promote the legal enjoyment of entertainment
content through helping grow legitimate, quality services such as these,” says Tom
Toumazis, the executive VP and managing director of BVITV EMEA.

"We are very pleased
with these agreements with Disney,” says Casper Keller, the general manager of
Film1. “With this deal and the agreements with other studios we will be able to
offer consumers every day of the week a ‘first-time-on-tv’ movie at prime time.
Disney will add a comprehensive range of family movies to Film1’s movie lineup
and is complementary to the already existing agreements with other major
Hollywood studios as well as independents and art house movies.”

The agreements announced
include important provisions for cooperation between chellomedia and BVITV
against piracy of BVITV’s content, while at the same time appropriately
safeguarding the privacy of the subscribers of UPC’s services and remaining
consistent with local law, and industry practice.