Chellomedia Direct Programming will launch a new premium channel in the Netherlands named Film1 Series on January 17. The new channel is the broadcaster’s answer to the imminent start of HBO in Holland.
The first five series to be broadcast on the channel are Borgen, Once Upon A Time, Revenge, Borgen, Necessary Roughness and Bomb Girls. Later in the year, The Bridge and the third season of Breaking Bad will be scheduled in April. All series will also be available on the channel’s VOD service Film1 On Demand.
“We are delighted to launch Film1 Series which adds a new, unique and compelling dimension of choice and value to our digital premium movie channel service” said Casper Keller, general manager, Film1, in a statement.”We realise that our subscribers would like to enjoy commercial-free episodes of popular TV series. With the addition of Film1 Series, we expand the breadth of our viewing choices and now offer premium TV series enjoyment to our viewers.”
The launch of the new channel is no doubt sparked by the as yet unannounced start of a Dutch channel, which HBO and Dutch cable operator Ziggo are preparing to launch.
No distribution details of the new channel have been announced. Film1 is currently available on most cable nets and on the DTH platform Canal Digitaal Satelliet.
The new Film1 channel will sit alongside the current four channels, Film1 Première, Film 1 Family, Film1 Action and Film1 Festival. It is believed that the current time-shifted Film1 Première +1 will stop.
