MUMBAI:SES World Skies has announced a capacity agreement to deliver Weigel’s new digital ME TV channel to broadcast stations and viewers across the US.
As part of the 12MHz C-band deal on SES World Skies’ AMC-3 satellite, Weigel is using 8 MHz to distribute TV classics from the 60s, 70s and 80s to a growing number of affiliates that cover more than 45 per cent of the US TV households.
ME TV (Memorable Entertainment Television) favourites include Gilligan’s Island, Cannon, Bonanza, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore, Cheers, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy, The Twilight Zone and more coveted titles.
The launch of ME TV follows Weigel’s movie channel partnership with MGM named This TV, currently carried by more than 140 broadcast stations across the US. The digital subchannel This TV is also delivered over AMC-3 using a 4MHz slice of C-band capacity.
Weigel Broadcasting director of engineering and operations Kyle Walker said, "We had to make affiliate access to ME TV simple to give our new classics channel the best shot at success. SES World Skies enabled us to meet our key requirements by ensuring that ME TV and THIS TV shared the same polarity on AMC-3, making the new channel an easy add-on for broadcasters."
SES World Skies VP US Steve Bunke said, "Weigel Broadcasting’s innovative use of digital bandwidth offers broadcast stations new revenue-generating sub channels and provides viewers with great alternative channel choices. We look forward to enabling Weigel’s vision and playing a key role in the success of ME TV and This TV for years to come."
