BBC eyes Italian carriage deals
March 20, 2014
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
The BBC is studying the possibility of expanding its presence on the Italian TV market, with the launch of BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies on DTT.
BBC is already present in Italy with BBC World News, available on the DTT (Tivu) and DTH (Tivusat) free-to-air platforms, while DTT pay-TV platform Mediaset Premium offers BBC Knowledge to its subscribers.
According to Italian daily “ItaliaOggi”, BBC is considering two possibilities for the distribution of its lifestyle and childrens’ channels. The first is adding them to the Mediaset Premium package or to launch a separate free-to-air offer on DTT, provided that the advertising revenue for BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies is satisfactory.
The paper adds that BBC Worldwide has excluded participation on the Italian DTT frequency auction.