Film1 and Sport1 up 7%
January 31, 2012
Chellomedia Dutch premium channels Film1 and Sport1 have announced a 7 per cent growth in subscriber numbers bringing the total to 490,000 for the year ended December 2011.
Chellomedia says the growth in subscribers is mainly driven by innovation and commitment to add features to the Film1 service all of which are designed to enhance the experience for the movie subscriber. This includes the thematic rebranding of channels which allows clear signposts to the genre of the movie content, clear communication to new subscribers, and the On Demand offering, which enabled subscribers to choose from over 150 films each month at no extra cost. Film1 subscribers continue to respond to the new features: compared to 2010, use of the Film1 On Demand service increased by an average of over 25 per cent per subscriber. Film1 has also recently added a fifth channel to its portfolio, Film1 Series, which introduces the Dutch audience to popular international TV series. In March, Film1 Festival offering will be further enriched with the content of Sundance Channel, the popular international network featuring independent movies, documentaries, short films and original programs. The Film1 Festival channel consequently will be renamed Film1 Sundance Channel.
Sport1 subscriptions also showed significant increases with the launch of a 24/7 golf and 24/7 tennis channel in 2011. Sport1 plans to launch a 24/7 channel dedicated to soccer in summer this year.
“Our results are built on our continued commitment to bring the best and distinctive programming to our viewers” said Jeroen Bergman, Managing Director of Chello Benelux. “With the recent launch of Film1 Series, the addition of Film1 Sundance Channel; and, with Sport1 increasingly offering a wider range of world-class sports events, we are confident that 2012 will be a good year.”