Nat'l Geo Channel to launch on BSkyB
A deal pairing the U.S. programming supplier with Britain's satellite gate-keeper was inked Tuesday in Cannes during the Mip TV trade show.
This first-ever branded National Geographic Channel will feature new NGEO programs as well as various programs from the extensive NGEO library. It will also access programming from independent producers around the world.
In the U.K. the NGEO channel will be beamed to subscribers on a basic tier as part of Sky's Multi Channels package and will be advertiser-supported, per Sandy McGovern, president of the channel.
The channel will be available initially for six hours each day from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Plans call for it to be rolled out on BSkyB's digital platform, at which time the programming sked will be doubled each day.
"I believe there are more opportunities abroad for (channel) distribution right now than there are in the States," McGovern said.
News Intl. president Richard Dunn said that BSkyB is likely to debut the digital feed in the fall, but that analog transmission is expected to continue for several years to the satcaster's 6 million home dish and cable homes.
Dunn pointed out that the NGEO slot was practically the last primetime vacancy available on BSkyB and that he was convinced that NGEO would fill a programming gap in the satcaster's bouquet.
No figure as to the cost of launching and operating NGEO channels was given, but McGovern said other future launches abroad were in the cards.
BSkyB operates 12 wholly owned channels as well as a dozen joint venture channels, including seven from Granada Sky Broadcasting. Fifteen other channels are distributed by Sky on behalf of third party program suppliers.
