Sony Acquires Dutch Pay-TV Movie Bouquet from Liberty Global

LONDON: Sony Pictures Television Networks (SPT) has reached a deal with Liberty Global to acquire the Film1 group in the Netherlands.

The move gives SPT full ownership of the five premium pay-TV channels under the Film1 umbrella along with its Film1 Go service. The acquisition is still pending regulatory approval. The five Film1 channels are Film1 Premiere, Film1 Action, Film1 Comedy & Kids, Film1 Spotlight and Film1 Sundance. The Film1 Go service is available to all Film1 channel subscribers on PCs, tablets and smartphones.

“The acquisition of Film1 marks a key move into the Dutch market and underlines our continued commitment to grow our highly successful and diverse suite of channels across Europe,” said Kate Marsh, SPT’s executive VP of networks for Western Europe. “Film1 complements and expands our successful Networks portfolio and we are looking forward to working with all our partners to continue to build on the success of the Film1 proposition.”

"When approaching the sale of Film1 as part of the group's acquisition of Ziggo, we wanted to ensure the new owner would be focused on building on a strong portfolio of channels," said Niall Curran, the president of Liberty Global's media investments group. "We are pleased that Film1 will be in good hands under Sony's ownership."