Warner Bros. Intl. TV and HBO have cut an exclusive multi-year deal to supply content to France Telecom Orange's new premium pay TV service, Orange Cinema Service. The deal is expected to be one of many for Orange, a cable, IPTV and mobile TV operator in France as it builds exclusive content to lure subscribers in and fill its six movie/TV series channels.
Orange has acquired rights to all of WB's current and upcoming films, including hits such as "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "I Am Legend." The HBO deal is the company's first in France and is different from HBO's original model of trying to sell programming on an a la carte basis. Orange boasts one of Europe's biggest roll-outs in mobile TV and IPTV. It has 1.2 million IPTV clients, and some 500,000 mobile TV consumers. Orange Cinema Services will be offered on these platforms, on a subscription and video-on-demand basis.
For more:
- Read the Variety story
Related articles:
French challenge Microsoft
Top European IPTV drivers