The History Channel Slated for Scandinavian Launch

LONDON/NEW YORK, January 30: The History Channel will debut
in Scandinavia on February 1, reaching approximately one million households in
Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The deal was inked with Norway’s Canal Digital by The
History Channel U.K., a joint venture between A&E Television (AETN) and
BSkyB. The History Channel in Scandinavia will be programmed by The History
Channel U.K., but will offer a separate schedule from the British service. Programs
will be broadcast in English with local subtitles for each of the four
countries.

"Scandinavia is a hugely important market for us and we
are excited to be launching The History Channel with a partner as strong as
Canal Digital,” said Ian McDonough, the commercial director of The History
Channel U.K. “The Scandinavian people have a keen interest in history and the
channel’s programs offer the highest production value together with topics
ranging from the Ice Age to the Digital Age.”

Since The History Channel’s launch in the U.S. in 1995 by
AETN, it has expanded to over 125 countries, reaching more than 210 million TV
households. The History Channel U.K. launched in November 1995 and operates The
History Channel, The Biography Channel, Crime & Investigation Network and
The History Channel HD in the U.K.

Scandinavia marks the third territory deal outside of the
U.K. for The History Channel U.K., following rollouts in Africa (2003) and
Greece (2005).