Dish Network L.L.C. has reached an agreement with Unvision Communications Inc. to carry all three of the programmer's HD services, including the enhanced version of the cable network Galavision.
The No. 2 DBS provider said it is the first company to ink such a pact, which covers Univision HD, TeleFutura HD and Galavision HD, as well as Univision and TeleFutura local stations in teh high-defintion format. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but all of the rollouts are scheduled to occur prior to the kickoff of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11. Univision holds the Spanish-language rights to the quadrennial futbol tourney and will present coverage of all 64 matches from South Africa in HD, including 27 encore games on Galavision.
Univision HD and TeleFutura HD are available today and Galavisión HD arrives in early June.
"Since day one, Dish Network has been committed to delivering the very best in Latino programming, and we're proud to offer three of the top Spanish-language networks in high definition just in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup," said Dave Shull, senior vice president of programming for Dish Network, in announcing the contract. "Our customers will not only get access to live 2010 FIFA World CupTM games in HD on Univision and TeleFutura, but also they'll get primetime replays of games on Galavisión, HD, available nationally in June only on Dish Network."
"Our mission is to provide viewers with the highest-quality information and entertainment, and this partnership significantly helps to put our Spanish-language programming and category-leading 2010 FIFA World CupTM coverage in front of an audience that wants to enjoy the best Univision HD, TeleFutura HD and Galavisión HD has to offer," said Tonia O'Connor, executive vice president, distribution sales and marketing, Univision Communications. "The availability of our portfolio of networks in HD speaks to Dish Network's commitment to Hispanic audiences."
O'Connor in a recent interview with Multichannel Newsexpressed confidence that a number of distributors would add Galavision HD and Unvision Communications other assets in front of the world's most popular sporting event.
