“It is the first step and we will be expanding our distribution on all platforms in the U.S.,” Private Media Marketing Director Giles Hirst told XBIZ. “The U.S. is a key market for us and we will be developing not only new partnerships of delivery on all different digital platforms in the U.S., but we will also restrategizing what content we will be creating for 2008.”
Hirst added that he was not at liberty to name the VOD carrier for contractual reasons.
The VOD package will offer subscribers exclusive foreign-language content from Euro-based Private, in an attempt to access different cultural markets within the U.S.
“We are extremely happy that this foreign-language package is a unique way to differentiate us from the other adult VOD offerings currently in place,” Private Media COO Peter Cohen said.
“This is a perfect fit for our high-quality movie content. Private movies are currently available in eight languages: English, French, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Italian, Greek and Spanish. With over 20 percent of the U.S. population speaking Spanish, this is a significant unique selling point for this VOD offering and gives us a leading edge for gaining huge exposure in the highly competitive U.S. market,” Cohen said.
NASDAQ-listed Private Media reported significant growth in the area of new media in August, when the company published its second-quarter earnings. The increase in sales from VOD, IPTV and mobile platforms represented 67 percent of total net earnings for the company during that time period.
“The company is aggressively targeting all major IPTV and cable-based true video-on-demand or ‘TVOD’ platforms and we are currently in the process of contracting with several major international operators,” Private Media CFO Johan Gillborg said when the August report came out.
“Most of these platforms are relatively new, but as they are operated by major multinational corporations, showing high adoption rates and rapid expansion, it is clear that these are compelling and significant new distribution opportunities for content providers and we are securing our place as a dominant provider in this new arena,” Gillborg said.