Eurosport 1 HD Dropping Exclusive Sky Carriage In Germany

Eurosport 1 HD will "become available outside pay-TV platform Sky Deutschland in Germany" on Dec. 1 for the first time, according to Jörn Krieger of BROADBAND TV NEWS. Cable operator Unitymedia will add Eurosport 1 HD to its HD Option "in which it offers the HD versions of commercial free-to-air channels" for a monthly fee of €4.99 ($5.47). Eurosport’s sister channels DMAX and TLC "are already part of the line-up." Sky Deutschland confirmed that the exclusive distribution of Eurosport 1 HD as part of the Sky line-up on cable networks "will be terminated in the forthcoming weeks." The HD version of Eurosport, which launched on July 4, 2009 in Germany, has "so far been offered exclusively by Sky Deutschland." The strategic move to drop exclusive carriage "enables parent company Discovery Networks Deutschland to make the channel available on further distribution platforms, thereby extending its reach" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 10/14).