Military History Debuts in U.K., Ireland

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 7: A&E Television Networks’ (AETN)
Military History channel has scored its first carriage deal outside of the
U.S., with its international debut slated for July 28 in the U.K. and Ireland
on Sky Digital.

Military History will provide an inside look into war rooms
and battlefields and will go behind the front lines with state-of-the-art CGI,
expert interviews and eyewitness accounts. Nonfiction series and specials
ranging from the history of warfare and great battles to strategy, technology
and weaponry will make up part of the channel’s programming. New series will
include Jetstream, a show about male and
female pilots as they learn to fly and fight.

Military History launched in the U.S. in 2005. The History
Channel U.K., a joint venture of AETN and BSkyB, will program, manage and
operate the channel in the U.K.

Richard Melman, the acting managing director of The History
Channel U.K., said: “Military History complements our existing channels by
providing a 24/7 channel for those fascinated by the events and technologies
that really can be said to have changed the world.”

“We are thrilled to launch Military History into the U.K. on
Sky, marking the international debut of the brand,” said Sean Cohan, the senior
VP of international at AETN. “We believe the channel, the genre, and our brand
of storytelling will captivate U.K. viewers, and we anticipate
additional launches of the channel in the near term.”

—By Jackie Stewart