The Discovery Channel is the widest distributed network in Europe according to a new report – TV Channel Distribution in Europe – from Digital TV Research. Covering 270 international channels/networks across 212 major operators in 43 EMEA countries, the report concluded that the Discovery Channel was available on 171 platforms.

Ranked second was Fox’s National Geographic Channel (169 platforms), followed by Eurosport (164), Viacom’s MTV (160), and Turner’s CNN (157).

According to Digital TV Research, HD channels are growing in importance as operators are eager to give subscribers something new. Of the 270 total tracked, 86 channels (32 per cent) transmit in high definition (HD). National Geographic provides the most distributed HD channel. The UK’s BSkyB leads in HDTV provision, by offering more than 67 HD channels.

The top five HD channels by carriage are: Fox’s National Geographic Channel (126 platforms); Eurosport HD (122), Nat Geo Wild HD (85), Discovery HD Showcase (74) and AETN’s History HD (65).

Companies stress the importance that a stable of channels has for pan-European success. In this report, 14 groups contributed 257 channels – or 95 per cent of the total. In fact, these groups provided 83 of the 86 HD channels covered.

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