Gazprom Media will strengthen its position in the Russian thematic TV market by launching a new channel on December 1.
Kommersant reports that the service will be known as Kinoseriya and offer viewers foreign drama series.
Although content will initially be sourced from mostly European producers including the BBC and France Televisions, in due course it will also include productions from such companies as HBO, Showtime and ABC.
Kinoseriya will distributed by the Gazprom Media subsidiary Red Media and offered by – amongst others – VimpelCom’s Beeline TV.
Its initial outlay for non-exclusive content is likely to be $0.5 million and it will not be regarded as a competitor to Amedia, which operates a number of premium channels.
Gazprom Media launch three new thematic channels this October.
