Zone Romantica to Launch in the U.K.

LONDON, August 30: Chellomedia-owned Zonemedia will launch
Zone Romantica to some 8.5 million subscribers throughout the U.K. and Ireland
on September 3 via the Sky satellite platform.

Zone Romantica offers a mix of long-running series, popular
soaps and feature films inspired by true stories to appeal to female audiences.

From Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, the
channel will air titles like Ally McBeal
and Chicago Hope. The channel
will also present the U.K. premiere of the drama series Snoops, centered around an unconventional L.A. detective
agency run by a woman (Gina Gershon, Pretty in Pink, Showgirls) who gladly bends the rules for her clients. On the
soap opera front, Zone Romantica will offer three classic long-running series: Days
of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless
and Guiding Light. Rounding out
the schedule will be heart-warming, inspirational films. The channel will
broadcast from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily, with teleshopping from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Kathy Fairburn, the head of programming and acquisitions for
Zonemedia, commented: “We believe Zone Romantica is a long-overdue addition to
the TV landscape in the U.K., offering a mix of good escapist fun and
emotionally charged drama. The channel provides the perfect home for
long-running series and feature films tailor-made to appeal to women, and we
are confident it will garner the same following in the U.K. as it has
throughout Europe and the rest of the world.”