MEO offer integrates two new Sony channels
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Two new channels are about to integrate the MEO offer. Animax, whose emission will start on 12th April and Sony Entertainment Television, starting on the14th of the same month, property of Sony Pictures Television International, will increase the entertainment offer and meet PT customers’ expectations with differentiated contents
A close, joyful, cool and varied programming, with a young, modern, different, colourful and vanguardist style characterize the programming of the two new channels, fully subtitled in Portuguese, now integrated in the MEO offer. With the beginning of Animax emission, on 12th April, and Sony Entertainment Television (SET), whose emission begins on 14th April, PT promises to offer the best entertainment contents. Its goal is to make them into one of the favourite entertainment options of the Portuguese public.
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Vera Pinto Pereira said that the new channels of
the MEO offer meet PT customers’ expectations |
It was with “great enthusiasm” that PT announced this launch included in the MEO offer in a press conference, “a different and innovative way to see and consume television in the Portuguese market”, declared Vera Pinto Pereira, Portugal Telecom’s TV Product Manager. “The introduction of SET and Animax in our programming not only strengthens our entertainment offers, but it also enables us to meet what our customers want, in terms of differentiated contents”, she said. According to the market research conducted by PT, “the Portuguese market has been following the international trends of increase in the offer of the number of channels, showing the same needs and preferences of other markets”, informed Vera Pinto Pereira. And she added that the channels will be provided on three platforms: “IPTV, Satellite and Mobile, for bigger convenience for the spectators, being up to them where, how and when they want to watch them”.
Thus Sony Pictures International Television Networks extends its channel offer in Portugal that already includes AXN, which in November will celebrate its sixth anniversary as absolute audience leader among all the entertainment channels of subscription television in Portugal.
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Juan María Romeu assured that
TV spectators will be thrilled with the
offer of contents of both SET and Animax |
Speaking about this launch, Ross Hair, Senior Vice-president, International Networks, EMEA from Sony Pictures Television International, expressed his “gratefulness to Portugal Telecom for the trust deposited” and added that “Animax as much as Sony Entertainment Television offer an up-to-date and innovative entertainment experience for the Portuguese spectators, as well as an attractor for advertisers, with great opportunities to reach a familiar audience in the case of SET and to connect with young teenage public in the case of Animax”.
Business opportunities, unique experiences
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Carlos Harrán disclosed some of the contents
exhibited on each channel | According to Juan María Romeu, Senior Vice-president and General Director of SPTI Networks Iberia, “with Animax in Portugal, new and fascinating opportunities for the channel business open up, as well as a unique experience for the spectator and the Portuguese market. SET also represents an attractive proposition with a wide offer of programs that will interest different types of audience. With our vast experience in the launch and development of these channels all over the world, I am certain that the spectators will be delighted with the programming offer of both Animax and SET”.
Carlos Harrán, Program Director of SPTI Networks Iberia, disclosed in the press conference some of the contents that the two channels will exhibit still in the month of April. A few new programs are expected, along with the exhibition of some series already known by the Portuguese public, which assume a fundamental role in the attraction of potential customers.
Hits with a young and modern style
Available on MEO service’s IPTV and DTH platforms, Sony Entertainment Television is defined as a general entertainment channel, directed to a young public, with family vocation. Several types are combined, from comedy to drama, together with adventures, reality or family, also including cinema. Titles such as “Joan of Arcadia”, “The Guardian”, and “Medical Investigation” constitute the every day offer of new series at 21:30. The “Big Bang Theory” and “What I Like About You”, absolute premieres, are included in Friday’s programming. On this Sony channel, spectators will also be able to watch all time hits such as “Friends”, “Sex and the City” and “Everyone Loves Raymond”.
SET channel arrives in Europe with the guarantee of success reached in the Hispanic Latin American countries, as well as in Brazil, where it is consolidated as the leading channel of the subscription television offer in those countries. The offer is also available in Spain, on the Terrestrial Digital Television platform since 2006.
Vanguardism in a coloured and innovative bet
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Once identified the market opportunity, PT opted to integrate in its MEO service offer a Japanese animation channel called Animax, which will be made available on the IPTV and DTH platforms, as well as on TMN’s MEO Mobile.
Different, vanguardist, cool, original, colourful and innovative, with Animax , young people in the 15 - 35 year range will be particularly identified with a varied sample of contents based on Japanese anime, where every sort of types and trends can be found. From classics such as “Detective Conan” or “Lupin III” to great worldwide hits such as “Samurai Champloo” as well as series for the first time in Portugal such as “Nana” and “Peach Girl” are included in Animax’s programming.
The term anime defines Japanese animation, very different from that western public is used to see. In Japan, its native country, anime comprises much wider and serious subjects other than traditional animation, followed by public of all ages, and includes types such as comedy, thriller, romance or scientific fiction. The recent success at international level of anime films made this type become sought after by European and North American channels, regarded by many as a form of art.
Carlos Harrán, Programming Director of SPTI Networks Iberia, Vera Pinto Pereira, PT’s TV Product Manager, and Juan María Romeu, Senior Vice-Presidente and General Director of SPTI Networks Iberia, at the launch of SET and Animax channels
About MEO
MEO is Portugal Telecom’s television service, based on a concept of distribution of convergent multi-platform contents - television, mobile telephone and PC -, that enables users to have access to a different and innovative television experience, giving the customer the possibility to manage the contents that he wants to see, in a simple and comfortable way, breaking with the linearity and rigidity of the current subscription television programming. Digital recording, pause TV, video-on-demand, high-definition channels and flexibility in the choice of the desired channels are some of the functionalities that characterize this service.
MEO initiated its activity in June of 2007, provides more than 100 channels and covers today all the national territory.
About Sony Pictures Television International
Sony Pictures Television International’s (SPTI) operations comprise three complementary business lines:
- Distribution of films and television programs from Sony Pictures Entertainment for channels all over the world;
- Television productions in the main international markets;
- International television channels.
Besides leading the distribution of première and classical films from the U.S.A, as well as international films and television products, SPTI produces locally television programs in different languages.
With offices in France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Miami (Latin American headquarters), Russia, People's Republic of China, Spain and Great-Britain, SPTI currently supervises television production in nine territories. SPTI’s worldwide activities related with the television channel business represent one of the key strategies in the company’s expansion projects, with more than 45 channels in 130 countries, reaching 370 million homes all over the world, in 20 different languages. Sony Pictures Television International is part of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
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