Telson, Turner extend partnership in Spain

Juan Fernandez Gonzalez | 18-12-2013

Telson and Turner have extended their distribution agreement in Spain. The Tres60 Grupo subsidiary will produce the signals and distribute the new Turner channels – TCM HD, TNT HD and Cartoon Portugal – for the Iberian Peninsula.

Telson specialises in advertising and cinema post-production, but also works with play-out services. The project with Turner required a large investment in broadcasting equipment – video servers, graphic systems and content management system – in order to integrate Telson's broadcasting centre and Turner's systems in Madrid and London.

The Tres60 company is currently distributing 18 signals in Portugal and Spain. The play-out provider mostly works for international groups including NBC Universal and Viacom. The agreement with Turner has been active since 1999, when the Atlanta-based group started to operate in Spain's pay-TV market.

Turner has lately been restructuring its operations in Spain, ending the pay-TV broadcasting of Cartoon Network and Cartoonito, although it has retained its online channel and has announced an on-demand service.

TCM and TNT have a large presence on Spanish pay-TV platforms and are now available in high definition (HD) on most of the cable and satellite services including Canal+, Movistar TV and ONO, as well as the regional platforms R and Telecable.