HOLLYWOOD -- Walt Disney TV Intl. has inked two deals with Munich-based Premiere that give the German pay TV platform the rights to carry the Disney Channel and to broadcast Mouse House blockbusters including "Signs" and "Pearl Harbor."
The agreements, effective immediately, were announced Monday by WDTVI prexy David Hulbert and Premiere's CEO Georg Kofler.
The deals renew older Disney contracts with Premiere that had lapsed in the wake of the implosion of Premiere's parent company, the Kirch Group, which declared bankruptcy last year.
The movie licensing agreement gives Premiere access to movies from Touchstone, Miramax and Dimension and includes "Chicago," "The Princess Diaries" and "Sweet Home Alabama."
The agreement also incorporates TV series from ABC and from Fox Kids Europe.
No figure was available for the deals. Typically, renewals with the Hollywood majors in Germany have been at a 15%-20% discount since the market collapsed 18 months ago.
Hulbert said, "The last year has been a difficult and challenging environment for German television, but these agreements are good for the media industries in Germany and good for Bavaria, where Disney Channel, BVI TV and Premiere all have their offices."
Disney also recently closed a deal with terrestrial player Pro 7 for a big package of movies and TV series and holds equity stake investments in niche terrestrials Super RTL and RTL 2, which, like Pro 7, are profitable stations.
Premiere beams some 30 channels and reaches 2.6 million subscriber households.
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