The Paris-based TV channel distribution company Thema plans to extend its activities to the UK this year.
Speaking exclusively to Broadband TV News, Patrick Rivet, VP international development, said that it “wants to duplicate in the UK what it has already done in France.”
There, its main activity is the distribution of ethnic channels, with the most successful offers being basic and premium packages (le bouquet African) targeting viewers of sub-Saharan origin.
Distributed on France’s IPTV platforms, they currently have 120,000 subscribers.
In the UK, Thema has already identified South African, Russian, Chinese and Arabic communities as the ones it will target.
Elsewhere in Europe, Thema distributes Arabic channels in both Germany and the Netherlands.
It has also recently become active in Scandinavia. Rivet added that besides delivering content to operators Thema undertakes all the marketing and takes care of after-sales.
Aside from its ethnic channel business, Thema distributes a number of international thematic channels around the world and has offices in Singapore, New York and Moscow.
It was established in 2005 by François Thiellet, the founder of manager of a number of successful channels including MCM, Muzzik and Fashion TV.
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