MUNICH, Germany, May 31, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- On September 1, Premiere will launch a range of attractive subscription packages with foreign-language TV programming under the umbrella brand PREMIERE INTERNATIONAL. In addition to Premiere's standard programming, subscribers will be able to receive eight Turkish, four Italian and five Russian channels via satellite that are particularly popular in their countries of origin. Thanks to new satellite reception technology, a further 250 free-TV channels will also become readily available. The foreign-language channels are to be made available as a result of a cooperation between Premiere and SES ASTRA, as announced by both companies today. In the medium term Premiere expects to attract between 100,000 to 150,000 subscribers for the new foreign-language TV.
The most substantial part of PREMIERE INTERNATIONAL is devoted to Turkish programs with a total of eight TV channels. Highlights include LIG TV (Turkish soccer) and the movie channel SINEMATURK. Four further channels -- ATV AVRUPA, SHOW TV and the programs for our younger target groups TGRT EU and KANAL D FUN -- offer subscribers a broad and entertaining mix of news, movies, sports, shows, music and children's programming. NTV presents news and information while the music channel POWER TURK plays songs from the Turkish charts. In addition, four Turkish radio stations provide musical variety: ALEM FM, the mainstream station specializing in Turkish pop and rock music, the new 24-hour children's radio station MASAL RADYO, POWERTURK FM with assorted hits and pop from Turkey and RADIO D for fans of more particular kinds of Turkish music.
Italian-language subscribers will be able to tune into a range of Italian news, entertainment, shows, movies and sports programs on the public channels RAI 1, RAI 2 and RAI 3. In addition, VIDEO ITALIA offers a 24-hour program of Italian music. Here, video clips with stars like Eros Ramazzotti and Zucchero are complemented by a round-the-clock selection of interviews, concerts and news from the world of Italian pop.
PREMIERE INTERNATIONAL's Russian program has a total of five channels. CHANNEL ONE RUSSIA (formerly ORT), the country's favorite channel, features a selection of news, movies, sports, entertainment shows and children's TV. A main focus of the general entertainment channels RTVI and RTR-PLANETA are news and info programs. NASHE KINO presents a range of new and classic Russian movies, while DETSKII MIR features cartoons and films for children and teenagers.
The prices for the different language packages are expected to range between 4 and 20 euro. The basic requirement for subscribing is a PREMIERE START subscription. All three foreign-language packages are broadcast via ASTRA orbital position 23.5 degrees East. In the future, PREMIERE START will also be available via this satellite. The reception of all other Premiere channels, transmitted via 19.2 degrees East, in combination with a foreign-language package is just as easy. A new Duo LNB enables subscribers to receive channels from both orbital positions easily. Users of parabolic aerials can simply replace their Universal LNB with the state-of-the-art Duo LNB. A particular advantage for customers is the fact that all receivable channels tune themselves automatically without the need for manual re-setting between the two orbital positions. Unlike the traditional Universal LNB, up to four analog or digital, or two analog and two digital, or four different receivers can be connected to the Duo LNB without any extra effort.
Premiere also plans to offer the new foreign-language packages to cable network operators, who will be able to offer PREMIERE INTERNATIONAL to their cable customers on behalf of Premiere. Viewers will require their own cable head-end to receive the orbital position 23.5 degrees East.
Dr. Georg Kofler, CEO of Premiere, commented: "With PREMIERE INTERNATIONAL we'll be catering to around 1.5 million foreign-language households in Germany and Austria. But it will also be very attractive to many existing Premiere subscribers in multilingual households. PREMIERE INTERNATIONAL is paving the way for many foreign channels that until now could only be received with great difficulty and expense, or not at all. One satellite dish will be enough to receive the foreign-language channels, Premiere and around 250 free-TV channels. This constitutes the greatest freedom of choice that television can offer in the German-speaking world at the present time."
PREMIERE INTERNATIONAL -- the TV channels at a glance Turkish channels LIG TV: News and sports with the Turkish soccer league (minimum of 170 live games) SINEMATURK: Movie and soap channel showing TV premieres plus classic cinema and cult movies ATV AVRUPA: News, Turkish and international movies, soaps, sports, entertainment shows, magazine shows, talk shows, music and children's programming SHOW TV: News, Turkish and international movies and soaps, sports, music shows and entertainment TGRT EU: News, Turkish movies and soaps, cultural, music shows for kids and teens KANAL D FUN: Entertainment channel with shows, magazine programs, sports, music, movies and soaps, plus children's programming POWER TURK: Music channel NTV: News channel with political debate and expert discussion and analysis, as well as info programs on art, culture, sport, lifestyle and entertainment Italian channels RAI 1: Italy's favorite channel: news, entertainment shows, movies, soaps and sports RAI 2: Entertainment shows, shows for teens, movies, soaps, politics, satire, travel, music festivals and sports RAI 3: Channel with an emphasis on culture: news, history, talk shows, classic cinema VIDEO ITALIA: 24-hour Italian music channel with video clips, concerts, star portraits and interviews Russian channels CHANNEL ONE RUSSIA: News, movies and soaps, high-quality entertainment shows, documentaries, sports and children's programming RTR-PLANETA: News, movies and documentaries, TV soaps and talk shows, sports RTVI: News programs from around the world, talk shows, soaps, movies, game shows, documentaries, lifestyle and children's programming NASHE KINO: Movie channel with current Russian films and the classic cinema DETSKII MIR: Kids' channel with cartoons and shows for children and teenagers
This press release and other information can be found on the Internet at info.premiere.de.