TVE Star leads VTR's HDTV line-up expansion
Juan Fernandez Gonzalez | 20 February 2016
Chilean cable operator VTR is adding 11 HD channels to its line-up, including Mediapro's Formula One network for Latin America and TVE's new international channel Star.
The Liberty Global company will also add a 24/7 news channel, co-produced with the country's public broadcaster, TVN. Other channels in the package include ESPN 2, Animal Planet, FOX Life, El Gourmet, TBS, Antena 3, MTV and Nick Jr.
Another line-up expansion is scheduled for April, when Film & Arts, ESPN and BBC Entertaiment will premiere on the cable TV platform.
The move marks the first official announcement of TVE Star, the third international channel of Spain's public broadcaster, launched a month ago.
It's also the first commercial agreement of Mediapro's Canal F1 Latin America for the 2016 season. For the second year in a row, the Spanish production house will air the entire competition for LATAM through this pay-TV network, which is already available on 13 operators, including Mexico's SKY, Izzi, Axtel, and DirecTV.
“For the channel, this is a very important agreement, which strengthens our expansive strategy across Latin America,” said Javier Villanueva, director, Canal F1 Latin America.
Added Francisco Guijón, programming manager, VTR: “Sports is a programming genre with lots of fans in our country, and the Formula One channel meets the demands of an important audience niche in Chile."