01-12-2008

SPI moves into Romanian TV market

By Cathy Meils in Bratislava
    SPI International plans to launch two pay TV channels in Romania in mid-January.

    The company will offer Film Box Extra and Film Box HD in Romania. Since obtaining its first TV license, in 2005, SPI has launched channels in Poland, Czech Republic, and most recently Hungary, launched in September. SPI now has five channels, with the newest channels targeted toward specific territories and themes.

    Film Box is a partner company to SPI International, a film distribution company operating in Central Europe which supplies content for the Film Box channels. SPI is the largest single buyer and distributor of independent films for the region. Ivan Hronec, general manager of SPI International Central Europe, told FNE that the company plans to expand into other central and east European territories beginning in 2009, moving into the Baltics, Croatia and Serbia, and the Ukraine.