MUMBAI: Disney Channel Spain will go free-to-air (FTA) from 1 July. The channel will launch on free digital terrestrial TV.
Disney network of channels has 27 Disney Channels. It had made its debut in Spain in 1998 on pay cable. But the channel which presently carries no commercial, will become ad-supported and will be joining Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) service as Spain will be switching from analogue terrestrial TV in 2010.
Disney Channel‘s head (Europe, Middle-east and Africa) John Hardie stated that the decision to enter DTT and make the channel free is to basically reach out to a larger number of audiences, which will also improve brand-awareness. And the inclusion of advertisements will generate as revenue churners and will boost the sales of merchandising such as High School Musical CDs and Hannah Montana accessories.
He added that Disney Channel Spain can increase its reach from 2 million households to more than 6 million on 1 July owing to its availability on DTT, satellite, cable and internet TV. But the Spanish free-to-air move will not be a roll-out programme for other Disney channels elsewhere in Europe, Hardie added.
