AMC Networks Expands Balkans Footprint Via Deal With United Group
ROME – AMC Networks International has forged a partnership with United Group, a prominent telecom and pay-TV provider in the Balkans, in a strategic deal that will double AMC’s reach in the fast-growing region.
Under the agreement, AMC’s premium channel, which includes flagship shows “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Humans,” and upcoming “The Terror,” will become part of the basic cable package of the Serbia Broadband service in Serbia and also be offered to subs of satellite service Total TV in Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia.
Additionally, AMC’s Minimax children’s channel will now be piped into new households in Bosnia. Leading cable TV and broadband provider Telemach Bosnia will add the channel to their Digital Start package.
All told, AMC will now reach nearly a million new TV homes in the Balkans, doubling its existing coverage, according to a statement.
The agreement was made by AMC’s Budapest-based AMC Networks International — Central Europe unit, which runs 15 branded channels in the region, including German pay-TV channel KinoweltTV, which AMC acquired in 2014, and Bosnian free-to-air channel OBN.
AMC has made Eastern Europe an important focus of its international expansion ever since it launched outside North America in 2014.
“We see the Balkan region as one of the fastest-growing pay-TV markets in Europe and it is a main priority for us to continue the development in this region in 2017,” said Mike Moriarty, President of AMC Networks International, CE and UK, in a statement.
According to a recent Digital TV Research report, 44 out of Eastern Europe’s top 64 pay-TV operators will be increasing their subscriber base between 2015 and 2021.
“We are pleased to partner with AMC Networks International – Central Europe to bring AMC to all our platforms,” said Suzana Radosevic, Content Management Director of United Group.
“The channel’s premium original series content is a perfect addition to our diverse channel lineup and will further strengthen our rich offering to our audience,” she added.
United Group is the largest bundle pay-TV platform in the Balkans, comprising television, Internet, and fixed and mobile phone services.
AMC is now on subscription television platforms in more than 125 countries and territories across Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
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