DirecTV Sets On-Demand Movie Channel Debut

Satellite Service Will Launch Eurocinema Aug. 1

By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 7/29/2008 5:00:00 PM

DirecTV  this Friday will launch foreign-film on demand network Eurocinema as part of its DirecTV-on-demand platform.

The distribution deal puts the Eurocinema on demand service, which features contemporary and classic foreign movie titles as well as prize winners at worldwide festivals, in front of some 20 million cable and satellite subscribers, according to the service.

Some of the titles set to launch on Eurocinema include German-based Summer ’04, Le Petit Lieutenant from France and Under The Moonlight from Iran.

The satellite service launched its on-demand service in June, offering customers more than 4,000 standard-definition and HDTV titles.

“We’re delighted to launch on the DirecTV-on-Demand platform, which offers its millions of  customers access to more than 4,000 on demand titles,” said Sebastien Perioche, chairman and CEO of EuroMedia Holdings Corp., the parent of Eurocinema in a statement. “Thanks to mainstream industry and consumer recognition of their quality, as well as the tremendous surge in immigrant communities across the country, foreign films are enjoying a renaissance in the U.S.  This launch provides an ideal platform to reach these communities by greatly expanding our brand beyond the realm of cable television.”