Next week will see the launch of MGM Channel on the Sky Italia DTH platform. Julian Clover spoke to Bruce Tuchman, executive vice president, MGM Networks.
Recent years have seen a rise in the number of movie channels in basic and extended basic packages, the UK has Film 4, Sweden TV4 Film and Showtime; TCM is in most territories and many markets around the world are finding a place for the MGM Channel. Next week MGM will launch on Sky Italia, this time in the Cinema package, the latest of around 30 launches worldwide that have been made over the last six years. The Italian channel is being distributed from MGM’s hub in Munich, which is also the base for the East European venture with Liberty Global.
Bruce Tuchman, executive vice president, MGM Networks points to the depth and diversity of the library that for Italian audiences will include. Rocky, The Pink Panther, Thelma & Louise, Annie Hall, New York New York, Paths of Glory, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “It runs the gamut, the great epics of film making, and that’s really the point of the channel. Handpicked selections from the world’s largest modern film library.”
Tuchman says the brand is well recognised, leading to the creation of library driven channels, and has been able to thrive on the strength of the library. “Customers of multichannel networks want to see the blockbusters on pay movie channels, but there’s a whole wealth of genres that are evergreen, and we’re satisfying a great demand.” In Italy the movies have been dubbed, but the channel will subtitle and voiceover as appropriate, sometimes needing to create new versions. “In Russia we voiceover everything into Russian, but some of the films from Soviet times did not get exposure in the market, and people are seeing them afresh.”
As a film channel, HD is of course an element, though Italy will initially at least be in standard definition alone. “Every market has its own characteristics, and I wouldn’t make a rule of thumb, but in Israel it made perfect sense. The SD channel was in every cable and satellite home and now that HD was rolling out we were thrilled they wanted us to be a part of that.” This does not mean that MGM would not go straight to HD if circumstances permitted. Poland’s n – like so many East European DTH platforms – launched with HD at its core and MGM was there at the start. “That made a lot of sense and was our first HD channel anywhere. If you look at Italy, the size of Sky and the millions and millions of subscribers, to launch in SD and reach all of those homes from day one is something that we’re delighted to have.”
Tuchman won’t lead me down the roadmap of future launches, Ireland already has an MGM channel, but whether the UK will also hear the lion roar Tuchman won’t say.
But what does Tuchman enjoy when given the chance to sit down in front of his own network. “Well, it’s me, and I’m dating myself here so I may not be the most desirable demo, but I’m a big fan of Westside Story,” he says. “I was watching it a couple of nights ago when I was back in New York and it’s a fine example of everything a film can do.”
