Biography Channel To Boost Sky Digital’s Factual Output

The two companies behind the History Channel, BSkyB and A&E Television Networks, are to introduce a new factual programming channel to the digital platform. The Biography Channel, which launches on the evening of Saturday, 1 October, will, as the name suggests, feature programming on the life stories of famous people. It will air from 6am to midnight daily.

Most of the content on the channel will be acquired from A&E, which owns the Biography brand and series, which now contains around 800 titles. Other material will be acquired from sources such as BBC Worldwide and Granada Media.

Sky’s general manager, Richard Freudenstein, said, “The History Channel has been an ongoing success and the launch of the Biography Channel will further increase the number of factual channels, which are a key driver of subscriptions to digital satellite television.”

The owners claim that the Biography is one of the most popular strands on the History Channel in the UK, although many programmes acquired will now be reformatted and re-narrated for the British market.

The new agreement between BSkyB and A&E will also see the History Channel launch a one-hour time delayed version of its core channel. A Biography Channel website is under development for launch in conjunction with the new channel, and a UK version of Biography Magazine, which already has a US following, is planned for later in the year.

Further revenues are likely to come from e-commerce, online sales and sponsorship activities on both the website and Sky Digital Text. Discussions are taking place regarding cable carriage.

020 7705 3000