MTV fleshes out plans for international HD channel

The first details of MTV Networks International’s upcoming high definition channel are starting to emerge. MTVNI announced it was launching an HD service in late 2007 but has said little about the channel itself.

MTV Networks International president Bob Bakish has given TBIvision some of the first details.

"The HD service will launch in Europe later this year," Bakish said. "It will be a multi-brand service with music and kids programming and we’re really looking to benefit from the scale of MTVNI. It will be a service created in three places – Warsaw, Milan and Buenos Aires – and stitched together."

The exact launch date and channel branding will be disclosed later.

Bakish took over at MTVNI in January 2007 and there have been wide-ranging changes at the company since.

A lot of recent activity has been concentrated at the MTVNI Emerging Markets division with channel launches in the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe – the most recent announcement being that Comedy Central will launch in Hungary in October.