ITV Granada Lands Further Carriage

LONDON: ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Asia-based channel ITV Granada has secured new carriage deals with major pay-TV platforms in the Middle East, India and South Korea.

The deal sees ITV Granada launching in the Middle East on the OSN DTH network in late 2011 to subscribers throughout the region, in territories such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt and the UAE. The channel will also join the Bharti Airtel network, India’s fastest growing DTH platform, later this year. It will be available in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. South Korea’s largest cable operator CJ HelloVision has also signed on for ITV Granada for its CJ Tving service, which provides 140 channels viewable on PCs, smartphones, tablets and smart TVs.

ITV Granada is currently carried on platforms throughout Asia, including mio TV in Singapore, Astro in Malaysia, now TV in Hong Kong and StarHub Singapore, reaching more than 15 countries in the region. The channel is home to the U.K.’s leading entertainment, including the drama Coronation Street and shows such as I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, Popstar to Operastar and Dancing on Ice.

Augustus Dulgaro, the senior VP of sales for Asia Pacific at ITV Studios Global Entertainment, commented: “The high-quality lineup of U.K.-produced programming available on ITV Granada is attracting huge interest in Asia and the Middle East. Since its launch, the channel’s reach has rapidly increased throughout the region and we are delighted to sign these new agreements, which will bring ITV Granada to a range of key territories. It is an exciting time in the channel’s development and we welcome OSN, Bharti Airtel and CJ HelloVision to our suite of affiliates.”