German commercial TV group ProSiebenSat.1 and cable operator Unitymedia Kabel BW have expanded their cable carriage agreement.
Cable households in the three federal states served by the Liberty Global subsidiary will in future be able to receive pay-TV channels Sat.1 emotions und kabel eins Classics in HD quality in addition to the current SD distribution. ProSieben Fun is already offered both in SD and HD format.
Unitymedia Kabel BW customers will also in future be able to access programme content from ProSiebenSat.1 on Horizon Go, the cable operator’s app for iOS and Android devices, through mobile networks. This is currently only possible through their local Wi-Fi home network. The agreement covers free-to-air channels Sat.1, ProSieben, kabel eins, sixx, Sat.1 Gold and ProSieben Maxx, pay-TV channels Sat.1 emotions, kabel eins Classics and ProSieben Fun as well as video-on-demand (VOD) content.
“With attractive content, we jointly react with our partner Unitymedia Kabel BW to the increasing willingness of customers to pay for high-definition and mobile content,” said Conrad Albert, executive management board member for legal, distribution & regulatory affairs at ProSiebenSat.1. “This long-term agreement paves the way for further joint growth with our partner and thereby makes ProSiebenSat.1 more independent from the classic TV advertising business.”
The new carriage deal signed with Unitymedia Kabel BW was announced during the presentation of ProSiebenSat.1’s Q2 2014 figures. The Munich-based broadcaster increased its total revenues by 10.6 % to €691.1 million compared with the same quarter of the previous year (Q2 2013: €624.8 million). Recurring EBITDA rose by 4.8 % to €219.1 million (€209.2 million).
