Television
June 4, 2008
Warner TV Video-On-Demand Branded Service Launches On Tiscali TV
(June 4, 2008 - Cagliari, Italy) - Tiscali UK, the broadband, telephone and media company, today announces a strategic licensing agreement with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) to offer over 400 hours of premium content on-demand to Tiscali TV subscribers through Warner TV, a dedicated, Warner Bros.-branded video-on-demand (VOD) channel.
Series available on Warner TV include “Nip/Tuck,” “The O.C.” and “Smallville,” among others. The Warner TV channel on Tiscali TV will be open to subscribers as part of the service’s Entertainment Xtra Mix. The launch of Warner TV on Tiscali TV continues WBITD’s strategic expansion into branded VOD channels around the world. WBITD has previously launched Warner TV VOD channels with ProSieben in Germany, Virgin Media and BT in the U.K., USEN Corporation’s GyaO in Japan and Free TV in France. Additional WBITD branded services are scheduled to launch on Orange in France, as well as in India.
Building on recent agreements designed to bring the best of Hollywood to Tiscali TV subscribers, this deal will allow Warner Bros. programmes to take their place alongside popular and critically admired UK and US comedy and drama already available on the platform, including “Lost,” “Doctor Who,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Life On Mars.”
Jonathan Sykes, Managing Director, Content Strategy, Tiscali TV, says: “We are proud to announce this important deal with one of the biggest producers of internationally renowned television, creating an ever more comprehensive and satisfying on-demand viewing experience for Tiscali TV customers.”
Jeffrey Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. International Television, says: “We’re very excited to be adding the Warner TV branded service to Tiscali TV and to provide UK viewers with another venue to enjoy the Studio’s television programming at their demand. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with Tiscali.”
Warner Bros. content will be available alongside Tiscali's 80+ broadcast channels, catch-up and on-demand TV services, including the UK’s biggest on-demand movie service, accessible to 10 million homes nationwide. Customers choosing to subscribe to Tiscali TV can do so from only £15.99, which also includes up to 8Mb broadband, a free wireless router and set-top box and free weekend UK and international calls.
About Tiscali
Tiscali UK forms part of Tiscali SpA., headquartered in Cagliari, Italy. The UK company was launched in July, 2001 following the acquisitions of Liberty Surf, World Online and LineOne. Tiscali UK also acquired Tiny and Gateway ISPs ands more recently Video Networks Limited in 2006 to enable it to provide Triple Play broadband, telephone and home entertainment IPTV and Video on Demand services and the Pipex broadband and telephone business in September 2007.
Providing broadband, dialup, telephone and TV services to over three million customers of which two million are broadband customers, Tiscali UK is positioned within the UK market as the 3rd largest DSL broadband provider.
One of the most comprehensive sites on the web, Tiscali's portal www.tiscali.co.uk provides 23 channels and over 55,000 pages of constantly updated information, resources and entertainment content. The site receives over 6.8 million unique visitors per month, a total of 265 million page views. The site gives access to online services from shopping to sport and money to entertainment and also provides services such as legal music downloading from a catalogue of over 1 million tracks, a free Video Email service and a Members Area with exclusive content and offers.
Tiscali S.p.A. (Borsa Italiana, Milan: TIS) is one of the main independent European telecommunication companies. With one of the largest and most interconnected IP networks in the world, Tiscali is able to supply its customers, residential and business, with a full range of services: Internet access, both dial-up and ADSL, voice, VoIP, media, value added services (VAS), and other technologically advanced products.
As of 31st March 2008, Tiscali had ca 3.5 million active users in Italy and the UK. 2.45 million of these were ADSL customers.
Tiscali's corporate website can be found at www.tiscali.com.
Visit the Tiscali Press Centre at www.tiscali.co.uk/press
About Warner Bros. International Television Distribution
Warner Bros. International Television Distribution is one of the world’s largest distributors of feature films, television programs and animation to the international television marketplace (broadcast, pay cable, basic cable, satellite, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, digital platforms, etc.). It licenses some 50,000 hours of programming (including more than 6,000 features and 70+ current series), dubbed or subtitled in more than 40 languages, to telecasters and cablecasters in more than 175 countries. # # #