British Sky Broadcasting and A&E Television Networks - partners in The History Channel UK - today announced the arrival in the UK of The Biography Channel(tm).
The Biography Channel(tm), which is dedicated to programmes about the lives of famous people, debuts on the Sky digital platform at 6pm, Sunday 1st October.
The new channel will feature a wide variety of biographical subjects from all walks of life. The first quarter schedule includes UK premiere portraits of Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ella Fitzgerald, Dudley Moore, Harrison Ford, Joan Collins, The Rat Pack, Pele, Bobby Charlton, Hugh Hefner, Bill Gates, Pablo Escobar and Jerry Springer.
The Biography Channel(tm) will acquire much of its content from A&E, the company that owns the Biography(tm) brand and series. The series now contains more than 800 titles and is among the most popular of The History Channel's strands in the UK. Many programmes acquired from A&E will be reformatted and re-narrated for the British market. Programming is also being acquired from British rights owners such as BBC Worldwide and Granada Media.
The Biography Channel(tm) is currently developing a website for launch in conjunction with the channel. A UK version of the popular US publication Biography Magazine is also being planned for launch later in the year.
The Biography Channel(tm) expands The History Channel join venture between Sky and A&E to include trademark licensing activities and new media opportunities, including internet and broadband services.
In addition to The Biography Channel(tm), the agreement allows The History Channel to launch a one-hour time delayed version of its core channel; as well as e-commerce, online sales and sponsorship activities on both the website, www.thehistorychannel.co.uk, and Sky Digital Text.
Geoff Metzger, Managing Director of The History Channel UK, said: "The time is right for us to launch these new services. Digital television is reaching nearly four million UK homes now. New channels and broadband interactivity on digital cable and satellite platforms must be considered as part of any programmer's business strategy. We are very excited about the new services we can provide our customers."
Sky's General Manager, Richard Freudenstein, said: "We welcome the addition of these new services to Sky digital. The History Channel has been an ongoing success and the launch of The Biography Channel(tm) will further increase the number of factual channels, which are a key driver of subscriptions to digital satellite television."
The Biography Channel(tm) will air on Sky digital from 6am to midnight daily and the new channels will sit alongside the core History Channel service in the News & Documentaries section of the Sky digital Electronic Programme Guide. The History Channel +1hr will be channel 562. The Biography Channel(tm) will be channel 563.
Discussions are also underway with cable operators to carry the service.
