Telewest rewrites History
The Turner Broadcasting System services also were renewed by smaller British operators General Cable and CableTel.
The moves reflect the intense competition by niche channels for carriage on cable systems. Individual cablers in the U.K. currently have carriage space for 40 to 50 channels, and there are about 80 channels in the market.
A Telewest spokesman described its position on the History Channel as "a commercial decision," adding that it was making space for new services soon to be launched by the BBC in partnership with programming producer Flextech.
Geoff Metzger, History Channel general manager in the U.K., told Daily Variety, "This has a big impact and it sends a bad message to channels like ours." He said he was unclear as to why the channel was dropped, adding that surveys had shown Brits like what it offers.
Many niche channels in Britain struggle to pull decent ratings, and the History Channel falls into that category, at least in part due to the fact that it airs only four hours per day.
Ross Portugeis, exec VP of Turner Broadcasting for European distribution, said, "The depth and breadth of Turner's cable channels is demonstrated by these long-term deals."
