TV Cabo to add 15 new TV channels
September 14, 2007
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Portuguese pay-TV operator TV Cabo will launch 15 new channels by the end of the year, taking the total number to 103. Currently, TV Cabo offers its subscribers a total of 87 channels (65 basic, 9 Premium and 13 radio stations) and all of the new channels. Among the new Premium offerings will be Mov+, dedicated to recent movie releases and TV series. It will launch on November 1 on TV Cabo's digital service Funtastic Life. The channel will also have a second version called Mov, distributed as part of the Basic service, airing older movies. The channel will also be made available outside the Portuguese market, namely in Portuguese speaking countries, such as Angola.
Other likely additions to the Funtastic Life package include Fox Crime and FX. Another novelty is the renaming of the 4 Lusomundo (Premium, Gallery, Action and Happy) movie channels to TV Cine (TVC1, TVC2, TVC3 and TVC4). TV Cabo is also preparing the introduction of a new receiver, which will permit, similarly to TIVO in the USA, to record programs and freeze images.
One of the pillars of TV Cabo's strategy is investing in content. Last year, it invested around E143 million in programming and for this year it plans to invest E100 million in Portuguese channels and the subtitling of foreign channels.