SPI International, a global media company operating 62 television channels on six continents, has announced the renewal of its partnership with the digital content aggregator and distributor Alchimie. As part of the partnership renewal, SPI International will offer its two popular channels, FightBox and DocuBox, to viewers of Alchimie’s digital platform TVPlayer. DocuBox will also be available via Alchimie’s OnTV platform.
"We're thrilled to continue our partnership with Alchimie, which has proven to be an excellent platform to bring our channels to viewers across multiple territories. With this renewed partnership, we look forward to expanding our viewership even further and providing audiences with unparalleled access to our high-quality combat sports and documentary content,"commented Georgina Twiss, MD Western Europe and Africa at SPI International.
SPI’s popular channels, FightBox and DocuBox, offer viewers an unbeatable combination of adrenaline-pumping combat sports and fascinating documentary content. FightBox showcases the best in martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, and more from around the world, while DocuBox brings viewers a wide range of non-fiction entertainment, from nature and wildlife to history, science, and culture.
“We are excited to enrich our channel offers with SPI's channels FightBox and DocuBox and to strengthen the partnership between our two companies. These two launches confirm Alchimie's dynamism in our ability to design, animate and monetize premium channels and content,"Pauline Grimaldi d’Esdra, Chief Executive Officer at Alchimie.
About Alchimie: Alchimie is a unique video streaming platform, which allows companies and designers to create their own video channel. Alchimie has a video content catalog established among 300 renowned partners (Arte, France TV distribution, ZDF Entreprises or Zed). Alchimie partners with talents (celebrities, influencers), brands and media groups to create new channels (The Big Issue, Army Stories, Poisson Fécond, Vaughan, Scène de Crime, Point de Vue) which are then distributed on more than 20 distribution platforms (TVPlayer, Amazon, Movistar, Samsung, LG, etc.) constantly expanding its audience and consequently its revenues.
About SPI INTERNATIONAL:
SPI international (a CANAL+ company) is a global media company operating 62 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and a major player in content distribution and broadcasting worldwide. SPI operates multiple free-to-air and pay-TV channels in CEE, Western Europe, Asia and Adria regions including key European markets such as Poland, Czechia, Romania, Serbia and the Netherlands. SPI Group owns a suite of legacy brands that have become household names such as FilmBox, Film1, Kino Polska, Stopklatka, Dizi along with different thematic channels and streaming services, including FilmBox+. Working with over 700 operators worldwide, SPI uses cutting-edge technology providing its subscribers with access to SPI’s linear and on-demand content. For over 25 years, SPI INTERNATIONAL has been a leading supplier of theatrical films and television programming in the international markets. SPI’s solid alliances with major license suppliers provide compelling content, with strong recognition and high demand. www.spiintl.com
SPI International announces the launch of its free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel, Filmstream, on Samsung TV Plus in Norway, Finland, and Denmark. The channel offers viewers access to a wide range of independent and classic movies.
"We are delighted to build on our partnership with Samsung TV Plus by launching Filmstream in three additional territories. Filmstream has proven to be a popular channel among viewers worldwide, and we are thrilled to make it available to even more viewers through Samsung TV Plus following the launches in the UK, India, Sweden, Netherlands and Australia," commented Georgina Twiss, MD of Western Europe and Africa at SPI International.
Filmstream’s current catalog includes independent world cinema gems and classic movies from iconic directors such as Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Fellini and many others. Filmstream plans to expand its line-up with Hollywood blockbusters and popular hits in the future.
Haymi Behar, CDO & CMO of SPI International, also commented on the launch, saying, "Digital expansion has been our top priority in the past few years, especially when considering how rapidly the way in which we consume content is changing. We are proud to offer viewers multiple windows of digitally accessible and curated content through our FAST channel products like Filmstream. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with Samsung TV Plus even further."
Samsung TV Plus is free TV, with no subscription, no sign-up, no additional device, or credit card needed. Pre-installed on all 2016-2023 Samsung Smart TVs, and available for download from the Google Play and Galaxy Store on Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets in select territories. Samsung TV Plus instantly delivers an ever-growing number of channels across multiple genres, including news, sports, entertainment, as well as video on demand library of your favourite movies and popular shows. The free, ad-supported video service is available in the UK and 15 other European territories, all you need is an internet connection. For the latest on Samsung TV Plus, please visit www.samsungtvplus.com.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry, and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com.
About SPI INTERNATIONAL:
SPI international (a CANAL+ company) is a global media company operating 62 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and a major player in content distribution and broadcasting worldwide. SPI operates multiple free-to-air and pay-TV channels in CEE, Western Europe, Asia and Adria regions including key European markets such as Poland, Czechia, Romania, Serbia and the Netherlands. SPI Group owns a suite of legacy brands that have become household names such as FilmBox, Film1, Kino Polska, Stopklatka, Dizi along with different thematic channels and streaming services, including FilmBox+. Working with over 700 operators worldwide, SPI uses cutting-edge technology providing its subscribers with access to SPI’s linear and on-demand content. For over 25 years, SPI INTERNATIONAL has been a leading supplier of theatrical films and television programming in the international markets. SPI’s solid alliances with major license suppliers provide compelling content, with strong recognition and high demand. www.spiintl.com
SPI International, has announced a new distribution partnership with Yettel Bulgaria. As part of this partnership, a diverse suite of SPI/FilmBox channels will now be available on Yettel TV, the new interactive television service launched on April 6th, 2023.
SPI's popular movie channel FilmBox Extra, as well as thematic channels such as Erox and FashionBox, will be included in the TV Favorite package. For those looking for even more variety, the TV Max package will include additional movie and thematic channels such as FilmBox, FilmBox Stars, FilmBox Arthouse, DocuBox, Fast&FunBox, FightBox, Gametoon, Dizi, FunBox UHD, 360 TuneBox, and Eroxxx.
Murat Muratoglu, Head of Distribution at SPI International,commented on the partnership, stating, "We are excited to partner with Yettel Bulgaria to bring our high-quality channels to their brand-new innovative and interactive television service. This partnership is important to us as it allows us to reach more viewers in Bulgaria and provide them with the best entertainment experience possible."
Yettel TV users can watch content on any TV through its wireless Smart TV Box, as well as on laptops, computers, smartphones, and tablets while at home. Yettel TV Smart TV application will soon be made available by the telecommunications company.
About Yettel Bulgaria:
Yettel Bulgaria, part of the PPF Group, is a telecommunications company providing connectivity to over 3 million users with people, devices and businesses. Until March 2022, the company is present on the Bulgarian market as Telenor Bulgaria. During its 20-year history in the Bulgarian market, the company has built a strong reputation as a pioneer in the field of wireless networks and beyond, launching the first commercial 4G network in Bulgaria in 2015, the first VoLTE service in 2018 and paving the way for the development of 5G with the first test of a 5G network in the country. Yettel's industry-leading approach to infrastructure has earned five consecutive Best in Test certifications from the global umlaut organization, which sets the gold standard in the industry. Today, Yettel Bulgaria has more than 1,800 employees, and over 180 retail stores, and its mobile network covers over 99% of Bulgaria's population. www.yettel.bg.
About SPI INTERNATIONAL:
SPI International (a CANAL+ company) is a global media company operating 62 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and a major player in content distribution and broadcasting worldwide. SPI operates multiple free-to-air and pay-TV channels in CEE, Western Europe, Asia and Adria regions including key European markets such as Poland, Czechia, Romania, Serbia and the Netherlands. SPI Group owns a suite of legacy brands that have become household names such as FilmBox, Film1, Kino Polska, Stopklatka, Dizi along with different thematic channels and streaming services, including FilmBox+. Working with over 700 operators worldwide, SPI uses cutting-edge technology providing its subscribers with access to SPI’s linear and on-demand content. For over 25 years, SPI INTERNATIONAL has been a leading supplier of theatrical films and television programming in the international markets. SPI’s solid alliances with major license suppliers provide compelling content, with strong recognition and high demand. www.spiintl.com
Luxembourg, 13 April 2023 – CANAL+ Group and M7 Group have decided to exercise their call option on the 30% remaining shares of SPI International and therefore to acquire full ownership of the company. Effective as of 12th of April, Mr. Berk Uziyel and Mr. Loni Farhi will step down from their roles in SPI International. Mr. Erwan Luherne and Mr. Jeroen Bergman have taken over their respective responsibilities and roles.
Mr. Luherne, Director of Business integration for Canal+ International, and Mr. Bergman, Board Member of M7 Group responsible for Content and Business Development, will keep working closely with CANAL+ Group and M7 Group to continue to deliver top-quality content to audiences across the globe, while also driving innovation, growth, and strategic synergies within CANAL+ Group.
Mr. Luherne, Director of Business integration for Canal+ International, appointed Managing Director of SPI INTERNATIONAL, has spent more than 18 years within the CANAL+ Group in numerous positions related to the development of the group's activities internationally (Africa and Asia in particular). Mr. Luherne has been previously CEO of Canal+ Myanmar, Director of Marketing and Commercial development for Canal+ International, Director of Commercial Development Canal+ entity in Vietnam.
Mr Bergman, now Board Member of M7 Group responsible for Content and Business Development, looks back at a long-standing career in the media and telco industry, including 20 years at Liberty Global, where he was responsible for all programming and content acquisition. Before Liberty he was Commercial Director for Dutch cable company Casema (currently Ziggo). Since 2019 Jeroen was managing the Film1 and Filmbox business in the Netherlands for SPI International.
Since its inception, SPI INTERNATIONAL has become a leading provider in the Media and Broadcast Industry, thanks in large part to the dedication, creativity, and leadership of its team and founders Loni Farhi and Berk Uziyel.
"SPI International has a long history of providing top-quality content to audiences around the world, and we are eager to take the company to a new stage of its development. Both Erwan and Jeroen have strong track records in the business so I have great confidence they will continue to bring great success to SPI" said Mr. Hans Troelstra, CEO of M7 Group.
"We are committed to build on the company's strong foundations and leverage the CANAL+ Group collective expertise to continue providing engaging and relevant content to viewers." Said Mr. Erwan Luherne and Mr. Jeroen Bergman.
