SPI International/FilmBox Pacts with Orion in Russia

SPI International/FilmBox has entered into a distribution agreement with Orion that will see the launch of several of its channels in Russia, with the federal satellite operator also becoming the exclusive distributor of SPI channels in the country.

Under the agreement, Orion has uplinked seven of SPI’s channels, launching them as part of the Unlimited and 1001 Nights packages via its Telekarta TV platform. The channels that will be available on Telekarta in Russia are the movie channels FilmBox and FilmBox Arthouse, the sports-focused FightBox and Fast&FunBox, the fashion-themed FashionBox, the documentary channel DocuBox and the adult offering Erox.

As the exclusive distributor of SPI’s portfolio of channels in Russia, Orion will make the offering available to cable operators across the country in both SD and HD.

Kirill Makhnovskiy, the CEO of Orion Group, noted, “Foremost, SPI channels provide high-quality content. We are honored to be the first operator in Russia to introduce them to our subscribers and offer the channels for transmission to our partners, cable operators. Our long-term experience of cooperation with international majors suggests that the primary launch of the seven TV channels in the Russian market will be a pledge of a long and productive partnership with SPI International.”

“Orion is one of the leading and most dynamic DTH platforms in Russia,” said Murat Muratoglu, SPI’s head of distribution for Russia and CIS, MENA, APAC, the Baltics, Turkey, ex-Yugo and Bulgaria. “We are glad to start collaboration with such an experienced partner and we are excited to deliver top-quality entertainment to Russian viewers thanks to our cooperation with Orion.”