Advanced Television

BBC Player expands presence in EMEA

November 4, 2024

BBC Studios has announced the launch of BBC Player in Greece, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The multi-genre VoD service will be available on Cosmite TV streaming service in Greece, Slovak Telekom’s Magio TV in Slovakia and T-Mobile’s Magenta TV in Czech Republic from this November.

Cosmote TV will bring BBC Player to Greece for the first time, providing subscribers the opportunity to discover new shows on-demand from BBC Studios’ catalogue. Programming includes critically acclaimed British drama including Golden Globe-winning thriller Luther, starring Idris Elba, Natural History shows such as Mammals, documentaries including Putin: A Russian Spy Story and entertainment shows such as Top Gear and The Great British Bake Off. All content will be available with Greek subtitles.

Cosmote TV subscribers will also continue to receive premium factual linear channel BBC Earth.

In Slovakia and Czech Republic, BBC Player will be the local on-demand destination for British drama, comedy, natural history, documentaries and children’s shows from BBC Studios catalogue. Slovak Telekom subscribers on Magio TV and Czech T-Mobile subscribers on Magenta TV will be able to stream some of their favourite series from the BBC’s existing linear channels in the markets, BBC Earth and BBC First, in addition to brand new shows. Programming includes compelling dramas including The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies (ictured) and Pride & Prejudice, documentaries such as The Trump Show, Putin – A Russian Spy Story, factual series Snow Dogs: Into the Wild and children’s show Hey Duggee.

BBC Player in Slovakia and Czech Republic will be 100 per cent localised in Czech with a mix of voice-over, subtitles and dubbing (children content will be dubbed).

General Manager for the CEE and MENA region at BBC Studios, Bartosz Witak, commented: “The growth of BBC Player in EMEA is a testament to the quality and appeal of BBC Studios content. We are excited to strengthen our partnership with COSMOTE TV, Slovak Telekom and T-Mobile Czech and complement our linear channels in the markets with a multi-genre VoD service. Subscribers will have the opportunity to explore the breadth of quality content available at their fingertips, I can’t wait for audiences to stream their new favourite shows.”

“Our partnership with BBC Studios continues to grow, with the addition of BBC Player to our streaming service and over 1,000 hours of high-quality TV content. With this partnership we offer even richer content at no extra cost to our customers, with BBC’s series, films and TV shows”, noted the Executive Director of Cosmote TV, Dimitris Michalakis.

“The deployment of BBC Player is the logical outcome of a mutually long-standing and collaborative relationship between our companies. BBC Studios content undoubtedly represents one of the most valuable libraries of European VoD content, supporting the preservation of Europe’s cultural audiovisual identity. We are extremely pleased to be able to contribute together with the BBC to ensure that viewers of our Magio TV service can also enjoy exciting dramas, unforgettable scenery and hundreds of hours of additional content from the comfort of their living rooms,” said Marcel Šatanek, tribe lead of TV and Entertainment at Slovak Telekom.

We are proud to consider Magenta TV the home of all premium BBC Studios content, and we’re excited to introduce BBC Player as a first in our region through this exclusive partnership. It will be a great addition to our BBC Earth and BBC First channels, and a valuable asset to our brand new VoD service, Videoteka Premium,” added Zdeněk Spurný, TV and beyond the core tribe lead at T-Mobile Czech Republic.

BBC Player is already available in Poland, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia.

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