Movies4Men has joined Channel M in the dedicated Freeview DTT multiplex for the Greater Manchester area. The deal for the Dolphin Broadcast Services-managed channel was brokered by Canis Media. It has a target audience of some 1.2 million homes.
Movies4Men went live on May 10 and is supported by an on-air campaign across the area’s local radio stations. The station is already available on the Sky platform.
“Dolphin TV’s Broadcast subsidiary has taken advantage of an exciting opportunity to acquire and test regional Freeview distribution in the UK. National Freeview channels can cost millions of pounds a year, so this is an inexpensive and more targeted way to reach Freeview homes. This is the first local Freeview distribution deal and could show the way for other broadcasters,” Fergus Lawson, managing director of Canis Media.
The UK government has high hopes for local television and it will be interesting to study the profile of the channels that share capacity when available.