Cirkus seals Com Hem VOD deal

New subscription video-on-demand Cirkus has scored a major multi-year distribution deal with Swedish cable operator Com Hem, TBI has learned.

From autumn this year, Cirkus will be made available to Com Hem customers as a standalone service or bundled with other TV products, as the cableco makes a concerted push into on-demand content.

The deal is coup for Cirkus, which launched to the international market earlier this year, as TBI revealed in March. The company then went on to score content distribution deals with a number of key producers.

Content included in the Com Hem agreement includes shows from BBC Worldwide, All3Media, ITVSGE and other major independent producers, giving Com Hem programmes such as Sherlock, Lewis, Skins, Silent Witness, Accused and Poirot.

Cirkus’s founders Hugh Williams and Mark Bradford plan to secure distribution in Scandinavia, where British content is always well received, before moving on to other territories.

“We have developed a unique service based on the very best of what British television has to offer, presented to viewers in a way they increasingly like to consume content. We are very confident that Com Hem subscribers will develop a strong following and loyalty to Cirkus,” said Bradford.

The news comes ahead of Com Hem launching a TiVo service for the first time.

“Cirkus includes some of the most successful TV dramas in Sweden and we are very excited to be the first TV supplier in the Nordics to make the service available to our customers. We will soon be offering the very best TV entertainment solution available through TiVo from Com Hem, and we are very pleased that it will include a new innovative service like Cirkus,” sais Simon Gate, director of TV and content at Com Hem.

Cirkus is owned by UK-based consultancy Content and Co. in conjunction with media law firm Wiggin and digital design agency Ostmodern.