CNBC and free-to-air digital outfit agree deal
CNBC, the business and financial news channel, has signed a deal with Freesat to launch on the free-to-air digital satellite network.
The channel will be available on the network from this week and will increase CNBC’s distribution in the UK to 12 million households.
The broadcaster, which has been available on satellite and cable since 1998, signed the deal in a bid to reach a broader audience through the free-to-air network for direct-to-home satellite users in the UK. It takes the channel’s EMEA reach to 110 million households.
Mick Buckley, president and CEO, EMEA of CNBC, says: “Our decision to be available on Freesat, and to become a free-to-air channel in the UK, is part of our strategy to increase our distribution across EMEA in 2010.
“Business and financial news remains very pertinent in today’s economic environment and this change gives consumers the opportunity to watch the best analysis of what is happening in the financial markets in both the UK and Europe.”
According to its latest EMS viewing figures, CNBC’s daily audience was up 18% and its monthly viewing figures hit the 7 million mark.
CNBC broadcasts seven hours of live programming on the EMEA financial markets every business day from its TV studios in the City of London, including Strictly Money – a one-hour programme designed for business investors in the UK.
