BBC Knowledge to launch on Sky

BBC KNOWLEDGE TO LAUNCH ON SKY NZ

• Documentary Channel to become BBC Knowledge in March
• BBC Worldwide to have three channels on SKY

Auckland: BBC Worldwide will re-launch New Zealand’s Documentary Channel as BBC Knowledge next year, in a major step forward in the development of its global branded channels business.

BBC Knowledge will join BBC Worldwide’s other channels on the SKY platform – BBC World News and UKTV – to create a bespoke factual content offering geared towards the needs of New Zealand audiences.

BBC Knowledge is an award-winning, entertaining factual destination that is already a successful channel in more than a dozen territories around the world. It has quality content presented by talented and passionate experts such as Louis Theroux, Paul Merton, Bruce Parry, Michael Palin and Ray Mears.

“Creating a tailored factual offering specifically for New Zealand tastes and preferences is at the very core of our content strategy. BBC Knowledge will have local flavour and local relevance,” said Tony Iffland, BBC Worldwide Australia’s General Manager.

“We look forward to engaging with the local production sector to discuss content acquisition and other opportunities to bring New Zealand content to New Zealand audiences. With three channels now in the market, this is a brilliant opportunity to showcase the diversity and depth of our content.”

“BBC Knowledge has so much in common with the Documentary Channel - they are both the homes of challenging, trustworthy content that is as entertaining as it is informative,” said Richard Driver, owner of the Documentary Channel.

“It’s been a difficult decision to decide to sell the channel that I’ve established and cultivated to its present level of success, but I know that BBC Worldwide will only build on its achievements and audiences.”

“New Zealanders have a strong appetite for quality documentary programming, which has already been demonstrated by the success of the Documentary Channel,” added Karen Bieleski, SKY Television’s Head of General Entertainment and Prime. “We are delighted to be working with BBC Worldwide to re-launch this expanded version of the channel, with even richer content and the solid backing of the BBC’s exceptional programming output.”

This deal demonstrates BBC Worldwide’s commitment to the New Zealand market, based on a strong New Zealand affinity to its content and its long-established presence as a provider of quality channels.

It will build on the success of UKTV, the country’s most popular general entertainment subscription channel, and of BBC World News, the destination of choice for thousands of New Zealanders looking for authoritative and up-to-the-minute global news coverage.

BBC Worldwide’s distribution business continues to work closely with New Zealand networks to provide access to award-winning content across all genres. Its other established businesses in New Zealand extend across digital, live events, magazines and DVD publishing.

ENDS

About BBC Worldwide

BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to maximise the value of the BBC’s assets for the benefit of the licence fee payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has six core businesses: Channels, Content & Production, Sales & Distribution, BBC Magazines, Home Entertainment and Global Brands. In 2009/10, BBC Worldwide generated profits of £145 million (operating profit before specific items) on sales of £1074 million (including Group revenue and the Group’s share of joint-ventures’ revenue).

For more information please visit www.bbcworldwide.com

About Sky Television NZ

SKY Television is New Zealand’s pre-eminent pay television operator, offering a wide range of sports, movies, music, on-demand and general content across more than 110 channels. SKY’s channel line-up includes 8 sports channels, 6 movie channels, 7 general entertainment channels, 6 documentary channels, 5 news channels, 4 children’s channels, as well as other niche and special interest channels. (As of 30 June 2010, SKY had 802,400 subscribers).

SKY launched as a three-channel UHF service in 1990, with two further channels added four years later. SKY’s UHF signal reached more than 83% of the country’s 1.5 million households. In December 1998 SKY launched a digital satellite service, extending its reach to the whole country. More than 47% of New Zealand homes subscribe to SKY. The analogue UHF service closed down on 10 March 2010.

SKY also offers pay-per-view movies, live events and interactive services including Skybet, the Weather Channel, and games channels Mind Games and PlayinTV and is also the cornerstone shareholder in Fatso, New Zealand’s premier on line DVD rental service. In July 2008 SKY launched MY SKY HDi, a new High Definition decoder and PVR with Dolby Digital surround sound, IPTV capability and increased storage. SKY currently offers seven MPEG 4 High Definition television channels (SKY Sport 1 and 2, SKY Movies and SKY Movies Greats, TV3 HD, TVONE HD and TV2 HD) to subscribers.
On 8 February 2006, SKY completed the purchase of the New Zealand television business of PRIME Television Ltd. The acquisition of a free-to-air channel gives SKY the opportunity to showcase its channels and programmes whilst ensuring that New Zealand consumers can view delayed free-to-air sports programmes such as rugby, rugby league and cricket in primetime. For further information, please visit the web site at www.sky.co.nz

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