SPI International is pleased to announce the launch of FilmBox Action on StarTimes, one of the leading TV operators in Africa. Starting April 1st, 2023, FilmBox Action will be available in the Basic and Smart packages on DTT at channel number 60 and DTH at channel 140, respectively.
"We are excited to expand our relationship with StarTimes and bring FilmBox Action to their platform. We are long term partners and we believe Filmbox Action is the perfect addition to the Startimes existing movie offering. Together we have already made Dizi channel, our Turkish drama channel a huge success and we expect the same for Filmbox Action,”commented Georgina Twiss, MD of Western Europe and Africa at SPI International.
FilmBox Action is a premium movie channel that offers a variety of action-packed movies and series, including Hollywood blockbusters starring A-list action cinema stars like Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, Jackie Chan and many others. With its unique selection of adrenaline-fueled programming, the channel is set to become a go-to destination for action fans in Africa.
“To keep offering fresh content of quality on StarTimes is one of our long-term pursuits,” said Lily Meng, Head of StarTimes Media Division. “We enjoy the collaboration with SPI International and trust that the synergy will lead to more fascinating chemical reactions in future, which can benefit our audiences across Africa. FilmBox Action will definitely prove its charm once it’s on air. Stay tuned to StarTimes for all these exciting movies and series!”
About Startimes
StarTimes is the leading digital TV operator in Africa, serving 16 million DVB subscribers and 28 million OTT users in 30+ countries. StarTimes owns a 700+ channels’ content platform combining African local channels (75%) and international channels (25%). The company's vision is "To ensure that every African family can access, afford, watch and share the beauty of digital TV".
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 multiple streaming services, TV and FAST channels worldwide, partners with THEMA to distribute the Dizi channel in Arabic to French network operators. The channel that broadcasts critically-acclaimed and globally renowned Turkish drama series will be available to Free and SFR subscribers in the Maghreb package.
“Turkish series have become a global phenomenon with many fans around the world. I’m sure that, Arabic-speaking fans of Turkish series in France will be particularly happy to hear about our partnership with THEMA to bring Dizi to enrich their offer, with over 500 hours of some of the best Turkish series with the most popular stars to their TV screens,” commented Georgina Twiss, MD Western Europe and Africa.
Timothée Vidal, SVP Multicultural Distribution and Digital at Thema: “Thema is delighted to welcome Dizi into the offer "Le bouquet Maghreb". The quality and diversity of the programs offered by this channel reinforce the attractiveness of our offer, leader on Arabic-speaking diasporas segment and available in all TV operators in France”
About THEMA:
THEMA is a distributor of pay TV channels, Fast channels and non-linear contents to cable, IPTV, DTH, operators and also for mobile packages and OTT. THEMA helps the development of more than 180 TV channels worldwide and builds strong partnerships with major pay TV platforms in France, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Canada and USA/LATAM.
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
Following the successful launch of CANAL+ Sport in the previous months, Skylink, Slovak Telekom, DIGI Slovakia and T-Mobile Czech Republic will enrich their content offering with the brand new CANAL+ Action. Starting February 28th, the channel will be available on Skylink and from March 1st, it will be available on the rest of the operators with Czech dubbing.
The international media company CANAL+ is expanding its activities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Starting February 28th, CANAL+ Action which broadcasts action movies and series with Czech dubbing, will be available via satellite and Internet TV on the Skylink and freeSAT platforms. Subscribers to T-Mobile, Slovak Telekom and DIGI Slovakia will have access to the channel as of March 1st. CANAL+ Action will offer selected exclusive titles and Czech and Slovak premieres, such as the critically-acclaimed action comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once, which is nominated for an Oscar in 11 categories.
‘’Following our successful entry into sports broadcasting last year in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we plan to expand into films and series this year, starting with the action genre. With the launch of CANAL+ Action, we aim to offer viewers high-quality action programming, with minimal advertising interruptions within a single program,’’ commented Ladislav Řeháček, VP CANAL+ Luxembourg for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
‘’We're thrilled to collaborate with all of our partners and Ladislav Řeháček to introduce CANAL+ Action to new markets. Our mutual goal is to continuously improve the value we provide to our partners and customers while delivering top-notch entertainment across the board,’’ adds Berk Uziyel,CEO of SPI international, which is now part of the CANAL+ Group and in charge of B2B distribution of CANAL+ products within the territory.
In addition to premiere titles, CANAL+ Action will also present popular action evergreens with A-list stars such as The Expendables 2: Back for War and Escape Plan with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and other action legends. During the first month of broadcasting, viewers will be able to watch the Oscar-winning TheRevenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio and the highly rated Canadian series Plan B which explores the implications of time travel and altering the course of events.
CANAL+ Luxembourg will distribute the channel not only through its own satellite and internet TV platform Skylink, but also through the Deutsche Telekom Group companies: T-Mobile Czech Republic, DIGI Slovakia and Slovak Telekom.
"After the summer launch of CANAL+ Sport, this is another premium content that we are presenting to our viewers. At the same time, I am very pleased that we have managed to negotiate a special offer with the international CANAL+ Group and we can therefore introduce the new channel to all T-Mobile TV customers, regardless of tariff, for a minimum of one month. After that, it will be included in the offer of M and higher tariffs," said Zdeněk Spurný, TV and Entertainment Manager at T-Mobile.
"We are pleased that, following the successful cooperation with CANAL+ Sport, the new CANAL+ Action channel will become part of our program catalog and our subscribers can enjoy the high-quality offer of action movies and series," commented Michal Mažár, Marketing and Sales Director of DIGI Slovakia.
"The cooperation with the television company CANAL+ has opened up wider opportunities for the dissemination of interesting television content. After last year's launch of CANAL+ Sport, we are adding a new TV channel from March 1st, which will be appreciated by viewers of action titles. The new CANAL+ Action channel will offer action-themed films, which will include proven classics with immortal actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Liam Neeson. For viewers who have missed a good dose of adrenaline so far, CANAL+ Action will be deployed from the beginning of March on all TV platforms such as Magio TV via the Internet (Magio GO), Magio IPTV and Magio Sat and will be available in the L and XL programme packages," adds Marcel Šatánek, TV and Entertainment Manager at Slovak Telekom.
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 launches an innovative product called SMART CHANNELS that are digital streaming channels specially-curated for all tastes and exclusive to the FilmBox+ service. With this innovative product, operators integrated with FilmBox+ will offer their customers tens of well curated brand new streaming channels
SPI International’s streaming service FilmBox+ is proud to announce the launch of Smart Channels, now available across the world. Smart Channels are specially curated playlists of on-demand content that play back-to-back in a similar fashion to traditional linear channels. These channels are fully digital and are exclusive to the FilmBox+ platform. In addition to FilmBox+’s VOD catalog and linear channels, subscribers can now stream Smart Channels that are genre-specific or dedicated to particular content, actors or directors.
FilmBox+ has rolled-out 157 smart channels so far globally as well as across SPI’s core territories such as Europe, Adria region, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Türkiye with channel availability varying by territory. More Smart Channels will be made available in the months to come.
“People love watching linear channels worldwide. This is because audiences cherish the serendipity of stumbling onto a good movie that’s reminiscent of the traditional TV zapping experience. Smart Channels combine the best aspects of on-demand and linear viewing by enabling viewers to discover content that they might otherwise miss by scrolling through a vast library of programming,” commented Haymi Behar, CMO & CDO at SPI International.
Smart Channels that are currently available worldwide include genre-specific channels like FilmBox Kids, FilmBox Comedy, FilmBox Crime, FilmBox Horror, FilmBox Romance, FilmBox Documentary and more vertical movie channels that broadcast cinema classics by the masters of cinema or from the 1940s and 1950s. Viewers can also access thematic channels dedicated to various lifestyle programming including water sports and mixed martial arts.
“Smart Channels is an innovation that helps us create new and dedicated streaming channels through our CMS within minutes which is an added value for the operators that are integrated with FilmBox+. Whether the customer likes sailing competitions or Tarkovsky movies, they can now find a channel curated for their taste without a hassle within the platform,’’ added Behar.
More recently, FilmBox+ enhanced its lean-back user experience by introducing EPG functionality for linear channels that emulates the TV zapping experience. Now, the Smart Channel feature builds on this functionality with more dedicated channel selections. By clicking on the information button next to a movie on the Smart Channel EPG, viewers can start watching their selection from the beginning via FilmBox+’s on-demand menu which creates a smooth transition between linear and on demand viewing experiences.
FilmBox+ provides instant access to an extensive VOD catalog and live channels on any internet-connected device. FilmBox+’s well-curated selection of content from major global distributors features Hollywood blockbusters with world-famous stars, independent world cinema gems, TV series, documentaries, lifestyle programming and much more. Audiences can access the service at www.filmbox.com via web, download the mobile app that’s compatible with iOS and Android operating systems or stream their favorite content through the Smart TV app available for Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung and LG Smart TV devices. FilmBox+ is also available via multiple major European operators.
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
