Discovery to Broadcast Five SD Channels With the Turk Telekom Group

Discovery Networks Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) has signed a deal to broadcast five Discovery Communications channels on Turkey’s IPTV (News - Alert) service TTNet Tivibu.

Tivibu, part of the Turk Telekom Group, now airs the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, ID: Investigation Discovery, Discovery Science and Discovery World following the pact, which took effect at the beginning of this month. The deal extends Discovery’s reach in Turkey, where its channels, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Discovery Science are currently available on cable and satellite providers Dsmart, Digiturk and Teledunya.

The channel operator has further ramped up business in Turkey this year, opening an office in Istanbul last month, where a dedicated team will now support its Turkish operations.

Discovery Channel’s forthcoming schedule includes the premiere of One Car Too Far, about a former British special forces operative and an American petrolhead who are dropped into challenging landscapes and must find their way to safety. Other new series include Superhuman Showdown and a new season of Dynamo: Magician Impossible.

Phillip Luff, vice-president country manager for emerging business, Discovery Networks CEEMEA, said that the launch of Discovery’s channels on TTNet alongside Discovery’s existing cable and satellite distribution on Dsmart, Digiturk and Teledunya will well distribute Discovery’s high quality programming to all major pay-TV platforms, as well as will ensure that its content is enjoyed by even more viewers on new IPTV and Web TV services.

Commenting on the agreement, Dilek Doyran, distribution director, emerging business, Discovery Networks CEEMEA, said that they were delighted with the agreement to broadcast five channels with TTNet Tivibu. He added that this combined with their partnership with all leading operators in the region is the latest move in their on-going commitment to work with partners in Turkey to make their award-winning programs available to as many viewers as possible through both traditional and new platforms.

Edited by Allison Boccamazzo