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HOLLYWOOD -- Universal Studios Networks has applied to the media authorities of the Berlin-Brandenburg region in Germany for a license to transmit a new movie channel throughout the country.

If approval is granted, the new channel would go on the air during the second half of the year on the Kirch Group's digital platform.

The so-called Studio Universal would be U's second channel in Germany following the launch of an action and suspense channel called 13th Street. The new web will target a broad family audience, drawing from the Hollywood studio's considerable library while also airing some major European productions and features from other Hollywood suppliers.

The German Studio Universal will be the studio's sixth channel in Europe.

"Germany will be the first country to launch a second digital channel for Universal Studios Networks, indicating our rapid growth in the German market," Tony Garland, president of Universal Studios Networks, said in a statement Thursday.