Virgin Media has announced a major content supply agreement with Home Box Office for a 50-hour package including The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Entourage. The programmes, most of which are familiar to Channel 4 viewers, will be housed in a standalone HBO branded destination. This is the first time that the US pay-TV provider has presented its content in the UK under the HBO brand. HBO has established operations in Central and East Europe and last week confirmed plans to launch an S-VOD service. Content will also be made available to BT Vision and Tiscali TV.
The Virgin package also includes the comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm and dramas Band of Brothers and From the Earth to the Moon. The package will be available as part of Virgin’s top tier XL TV package. As part of the rebranding of the former NTL-Telewest cable operations, Virgin is building a 600-hour VOD library, with content also acquired from Channel 4, The Walt Disney Company’s Buena Vista International Television and Alliance Atlantis. (JC)
