CBS Studios International and European entertainment network RTL have signed a partnership to launch two new channels in Southeast Asia. The channels will be broadcast in English and local languages and distributed in up to 29 Asian markets.
The two channels will be broadcast in English and local languages and distributed in up to 29 Asian markets including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. They’ll be distributed by cable, satellite and Internet television (IPTV) networks in the region. Both of the channels will be available HD.
The Singapore-based venture will be named RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network, with a management team that will report to a Board of Directors represented by execs from RTL Group and CBS Studios International. This new venture is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory and other approvals.
The first channel, which will be named RTL CBS Entertainment, is scheduled to roll out beginning in September 2013 with general entertainment hits such as RTL Group’s “The X Factor,” “America’s Got Talent” and “Celebrity Apprentice,” as well as CBS’s Elementary, Under the Dome, the Late Show with David Letterman and Entertainment Tonight.
This will be followed in spring 2014 with RTL CBS Extreme, a channel dedicated to action/adventure, reality series and extreme sports. Programming will include series such as “Fear Factor,” “Red Bull,” NCIS: LA and Hawaii Five-0.
On an ongoing basis, the venture will have access to first run shows and library titles from RTL Group’s content arm, FremantleMedia, and from CBS, which owns America’s #1 network, and a vast catalogue of more than 70,000 hours of programming.
RTL Group is the leading European entertainment network, with interests in 53 television channels and 28 radio stations in ten countries and content production throughout the world. The television portfolio of Europe’s largest broadcaster includes RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France, the RTL channels in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Croatia, Hungary and Antena 3 in Spain – the company also operates the joint venture channel Big RTL Thrill in India and has interests in National Media Group in Russia.
