Com Hem expands BBC portfolio

BBC Worldwide has signed a new distribution agreement with Com Hem that will bring BBC Knowledge and BBC HD to the Swedish cablenet from December 1. It will significantly increase the distribution of the channels in the Nordic countries, which made their debut on the Canal Digital platform a year ago.

“Sweden has always been a priority market for us and we are very excited to expand our cooperation with such an important and long-term partner,” said Dean , Senior Vice President and General Manager EMEA, BBC Worldwide Channels.

The two channels will be added to BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle and BBC World News. The international version of CBeebies is absent from the Nordic market, drawing some initial criticism from parents as children’s programming has been largely absent from BBC Entertainment, the successor to BBC Prime.

BBC Knowledge will be available to subscribers as part of the Com Hem Large bouquets, while BBC HD will be available in both Large and HD packages. Both channels will also be available as part of Com Hem’s Medium 8 Favorites packages.

In Sweden, the share of viewing to the BBC portfolio has increased by 19% since the introduction of localised channels in December 2008. In Norway, the increased viewing share of 29% from December 2008 to July 2009.