French TV launches channel in Vietnam

The Hanoitimes - The Vietnam Satellite Digital Television, a Vietnam – France joint venture, has launched its first satellite channel, K+1.

VSTV was formed last year by public broadcaster Vietnam Television’s pay television arm Vietnam Cable Television (VCTV), and French pay television group Canal + via its subsidiary Canal Overseas.

VCTV holds a 51 percent stake in the joint venture which launched a bouquet of cable channels two months ago called K+.

The new channel would focus o­n sports, TV serials, movies, documentaries, and cartoons, VSTV executive director Manuel Rougeron told Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper at its launch in Ho Chi Minh City March 24.

It has the rights to four high-profile European soccer tournaments -- the Champions League, Europa League, which was previously known as the UEFA Cup, Spain’s La Liga, and France’s Ligue 1.

Ten to 15 matches will be broadcast o­n K+1 every week.

The channel will be broadcast using Vietnam’s first satellite, Vinasat 1.

K+ shows a total of 56 Vietnamese and foreign channels though subscribers can opt for fewer depending o­n which of three packages they buy.

On the same day, VSTV opened its first K+ Store in Vietnam -- o­n HCMC’s Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street -- to sell set-top boxes.