Viacom International Media Networks will be launching Spike as a 24/7 channel exclusively on Ziggo on December 12.
The move follows just over a year after the Dutch debut of the channel on October 1, 2015. At the time, Spike was launched as a branded block on Nickelodeon in the 21.00 – 2.00 time slot.
However, Spike proved to be so popular, that Viacom has decided to give Spike its own 24/7 channel. Ziggo will put the channel in its basic tier.
The 24-hour channel offers a mix of reality and entertainment shows and live sports. It is known for popular shows such as Lip Sync Battle, Ink Master and Bellator.
For the time being, Spike 24/7 will only be available on Ziggo. At the moment, channel exclusivity is being used by the two main Dutch platforms, KPN and Ziggo, to reduce churn, or to win back customers. BBC First was first launched on KPN with a 12 month exclusivity period. Ziggo keeps its Ziggo Sport channel to its own, while KPN has commissioned a number of drama programmes got exclusive viewing on its network.
Just last month, HBO announced it would terminate the HBO linear and on-demand platform, and content would be exclusive on Ziggo starting January 1,2017.
