Russia’s leading pay-TV operator Tricolor TV has licensed around 200 titles from Warner Bros for its TV channels Kinopremium HD and Ostrosyujetnoe HD on a basic pay, non-exclusive basis.
They include The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Matrix, Troy, 300 Spartans and Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. It has also been granted basic pay, non-exclusive rights to some of the DC Universe films, including Superman Returns, Green Lantern, Catwoman, and other movies based on popular comics.
Commenting on the development, Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution, said: “We are pleased to have concluded this deal with Tricolor TV which will give millions of fans in Russia access to some of our feature films titles”.
Olga Molostvova, Tricolor TV programming director, added: “It’s important for us to make the offer that would meet expectations and demands of our subscribers. Thanks to our own telemetry system, we know preferences of our audience. That’s why the development of our TV channels is one of the major outlines of Tricolor content policy. Latest first-runs and modern classic of World Cinema — that’s what our audience likes. In light of this we are determined to retain the volume of quality foreign content at high level although some channels have announced the drawdown of purchasing. The agreement with Warner Bros. and obtaining a part of its strong library of films allows us to provide our audience with entertaining top content, that will guarantee a plenty of pleasant family home evenings for our subscribers”.
The agreement follows on from deals that Tricolor TV signed with Sony Entertainment and Paramount Pictures last year.
