SPI/FilmBox (a CANAL+ company) and Bulgarian telecommunications provider Vivacom expand their partnership to include SPI’s premium drama hub Dizi in the latter’s channel offering. The channel which broadcasts a slate of award-winning popular Turkish series will be available to Vivacom subscribers starting February 1st at channel numbers 15, 42, and 55 on EON, DTH, and IPTV platforms, respectively. The companies have also extended the duration of their distribution deal which will allow subscribers to have continued access to a portfolio of SPI channels and FilmBox on-demand content.
“We are delighted to introduce new channels that feature top-quality, premium content to the audiences of one of our long-standing partners in Bulgaria, Vivacom. Dizi channel is one of our most popular channels across the world that appeals to both Turkish series enthusiasts and those who enjoy well-crafted stories with high-production value,” said Murat Muratoglu, Head of Distribution at SPI International.
“We at Vivacom are very happy that together with our long-term partner SPI, through the Dizi channel, will be able to present to our viewers a high-quality Turkish production. We believe this will be a very successful partnership that will delight lovers of well-told stories,” said Hristina Borisova, Senior Manager, Products & Services.
Vivacom already offers three movie channels from the SPI portfolio: FilmBox, FilmBox Extra, FilmBox Stars, thematic channels, and a wide selection of FilmBox on-demand content spanning all genres.
About United Group and Vivacom:
Dutch-based United Group (https://united.group) is the leading telecommunications and media operator in Southeast Europe. Active in eight countries, the company has more than 15 million users and nearly 15,000 employees. It generates approximately €2.6 billion in annual revenues. United Group has the widest network coverage in the region and offers users the most attractive selection of TV content from around the world. Significant investments in digital infrastructure, content and technology ensure the excellence of the products and services it provides to customers. United Group has been majority owned by BC Partners, one of the largest global investment companies, since March 2019.
Since July 2020, Vivacom has been part of United Group. In Bulgaria, the group also includes Nova Broadcasting Group and The Telegraph newspaper.
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’s premium pay TV and on-demand service Film1 has recently concluded a major licensing deal with one of the leading content distribution companies, The Searchers, acquiring the broadcasting rights of more than forty well-known titles. The deal promises to bring a wide selection of recent titles such as The Personal History of David Copperfield, X, Copshop, Queenpins, and Spencer to film buffs in the Netherlands, over the next two years.
Berk Uziyel, CEO of Film1’s parent company, SPI International, says: “With such a substantial licensing deal we, once again, demonstrate our commitment to a qualitative and diversified movie offering and that we want to serve our viewers and platform partners in the best way possible. The license package we’ve acquired contains many popular top titles which perfectly meet the needs of our Dutch audience.”
The highlights from the new deal include the film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s masterpiece The Personal History of David Copperfield, thrillers Copshop and X starring Gerard Butler and Jenna Ortega respectively, the comedy Queenpins with Kristen Bell, and the Academy Award-nominated Spencer about the life of Princess Diana.
Olivier Van den Broeck, The Searchers’s founder and managing partner, expressed his enthusiasm for the deal stating; “We are delighted to be in business with SPI and to be a part of Film1’s impressive film offering in the Netherlands. We look forward to the success of our Pay-1 and/or Pay-2 on their channels.”
Film1 is the only provider of a Video on Demand service in combination with four linear 24/7 film channels: Film1 Premiere, Film1 Action, Film1 Drama and Film1 Family. The movies can be viewed via TV, tablet, or smartphone and consist of the latest international titles and major Dutch productions. Highlights from last year included The War with Grandpa, Riders of Justice, The Card Counter, Sometimes Always Never, Eiffel and The Duke.
About The Searchers
The Searchers is a leading Benelux independent distribution company, with offices in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since its launch in 2015, the company has built up an extensive catalog of close to 300 prestige titles and independent blockbusters. The company enjoyed commercial successes with both mainstream releases, such as Hustlers,Cold Pursuit,GreenlandandOperation Fortune, as well as bringing specialty and cross-over titles to a large Benelux audience, including Everything Everywhere All At Once, Spencer, Wind River, Hell or High Water and most recently Living. The Searchers holds exclusive partnerships with companies such as FilmNation Entertainment (Promising Young Woman), STX Entertainment (Bad Moms franchise), and Basil Iwanyk’s Asbury Park. Recently, the Searchers launched its own production pole. Co-productions are currently in the works on Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s long-awaited sequel Gangstas (in association with A Team Productions) and Jim Taihuttu’s Hardcore Never Dies (in association with New Amsterdam). The Searchers has been actively acquiring book rights and podcasts in its steps towards more productions. www.thesearchers.be
About SPI INTERNATIONAL
SPI INTERNATIONAL (a CANAL+ company) is a global media company operating 62 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and is 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, a CANAL+ company, and the content and platform aggregator ScreenHits TV have inked a new distribution deal for SPI’s free, ad-supported television (FAST) channel Filmstream, which broadcasts world cinema gems and independent feature films from around the world. The channel is now live via the ScreenHits TV app in the UK, USA, Germany, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina, with more territories to be added in the near future.
“Filmstream is a true game changer for world cinema enthusiasts with its catalog of timeless movies and we are pleased to expand its reach with ScreenHits TV worldwide across the USA, parts of Europe and Latin America,” commented Georgina Twiss, MD Western Europe and Africa at SPI International.
Filmstream currently broadcasts a curated slate of independent world cinema gems and classic movies from iconic directors such as Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Fellini and many others. The channel plans to expand its line-up with Hollywood blockbusters and popular hits in the future and is a part of SPI’s expanding portfolio of FAST channels spanning all genres for all tastes.
ScreenHits TV, a new distribution portal for content that the consumer controls, allows subscribers to integrate and manage TV/online streaming services while permitting them to see what is trending. It also gives them the ability to share recommendations and viewing habits with friends.
“At SPI, we work toward delivering well-curated free streaming TV, such as Filmstream, to maximize our audiences’ entertainment experience while reducing their decision fatigue. FASTs have become an integral part of our digital growth strategy in the past year and it brings us great pleasure to collaborate with like-minded partners like ScreenHits TV which prioritizes the ease of discoverability for quality content,” commented Haymi Behar, CMO & CDO at SPI International.
ScreenHits TVCEO-Founder Rose Hulse said, “FAST TV channels are rapidly becoming a cornerstone of streaming as this business evolves, and we have evolved along with it. As a portal dedicated to making life easier for consumers, our goal is to seamlessly integrate the SVOD and FAST Channels into a fluid and integrated UI, ensuring the consumer gets to the content they want to watch quicker, with as few clicks as possible. We are extremely selective about which news and entertainment FAST channels we add to our service to ensure they complement the SVOD platforms. Filmstream’s outstanding library of cinema gems and independent feature films from around the world fits perfectly with our vision.”
About ScreenHits TV
ScreenHits TV (SHTV), based in London, is a curated streaming aggregator providing the leading global and local streamers to a rapidly growing number of territories around the world, including the U.S. UK, Germany, Latin and North America, the Indian sub-continent and Africa. Currently available via a newly enhanced desktop platform and iOS app on the Apple Store and Amazon Fire TV Stick, SHTV is now on Android mobile phones. It will also soon be offered on Metz, Google Chromecast and other leading connected TV manufacturers, as well as new platforms. Officially launched in Spring 2021 by ScreenHits TV Founder-CEO Rose Hulse, the SHTV portal is designed to give control back to the consumer, helping the user to find the right content from the streamers they subscribe to and to better manage their growing number of subscriptions. ScreenHits TV is seen as a new, device-agnostic, distribution portal that is controlled by the consumer. Consumers can create their own TV Guide channel lineup, which in turn helps the user get the most out of their Subscriptions. Fast channels have recently been added to ScreenHits TV to bring in a select number of FAST Channels that complement SVOD. The platform provides users with ability to share recommendations and viewing habits with friends from their own network of social media channels, competitive offers on streaming subscriptions; and a child protection PIN that parents can put on their accounts to guard against any content that is not kid friendly.
About SPI INTERNATIONAL
SPI INTERNATIONAL (a CANAL+ company) is a global media company operating 62 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and is 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, a CANAL+ company that operates TV, FAST channels, and multiple digital services across the world, has appointed Kresimir Duic to serve as the Director of Operations for Adria and Albania. Duic previously worked for HBO as the Sales Director responsible for the Adria region.
He will be responsible for managing business operations in Adria and Albania which includes reinforcing SPI’s brand reputation, strengthening and building on client relationships, launching new Pay TV channels and digital products from SPI’s portfolio in the region while working closely with SPI’s finance, marketing, programming, and sales teams. Duic will work with the Head of Distribution Murat Muratoglu who oversees the distribution efforts for SPI across multiple territories including Adria and Albania.
With a proven track record of exceeding quotas, increasing profits, and ensuring both B2B and D2C customer base growth, as well as managing key customer accounts, Duic has over 20 years of experience in sales within the media industry. Duic spent 12 years at HBO Adria where he was recently working as the Sales Director in charge of leading all key account negotiations, B2B relationship management, market analysis, and strategic goal setting overseeing a team of sales managers.
“SPI's rapid growth in the region in the past few years is very visible in the market. I am honored that SPI decided to bring me on board to help with the further expansion of its operations in the Adria and Albania regions. I am confident that we will elevate the business to new heights together,” commented Kresimir Duic.
About SPI INTERNATIONAL
SPI INTERNATIONAL (a CANAL+ company) is a global media company operating 62 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and is 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
