Disney trials first free channel

Thu May 29 2008, 09:34 AM

The Disney Channel will broadcast for free for the first time on Spain's digital terrestrial television (DTT), as part of a new business model that Disney is experimenting. The firm aims to take advantage of the rapid growth of DTT in Spain, where the digital switchover will be completed by 2010, two years earlier than in the UK.

"We are adjusting our model to suit the market conditions we find," says the head of Disney Channels in EMEA, John Hardie, quoted by the Guardian. "In Spain we saw the growth of DTT seemed to be accelerating much faster than the growth in the pay-TV market so we decided to change the business model here." However, he rules out taking a similar step in the UK. "In the UK there is a well-developed pay market, so we decided to stick to a model there of basic subscription."

The service, due to launch on Jul 1, will offer dubbed versions of popular US Disney shows, such as 'High School Musical' and 'Phineas & Farb', as well as programmes specifically commissioned for the Spanish market. However, Playhouse Disney and Toon Disney will continue to broadcast as part of pay-TV packages.

Disney says it aims to reach 14m Spanish households this summer, from 2m now. It expects its Spanish portfolio of channels to be profitable within a year from the launch of the free service.