Comcast channel The Style Network scheduled to debut on Sky next week

by Fiona Ramsay Media Week 01-Jul-08, 07:30

LONDON - US media group Comcast is bringing its lifestyle-oriented pay-TV channel, The Style Network, to the UK via the Sky satellite platform next week.

Launching on 7 July, The Style Network will be part of Sky's Lifestyle & Culture package. A print, online and TV campaign will support the launch.

Viacom Brand Solutions, which represents Comcast's entertainment channel E! in the UK, has taken on ad sales for The Style Network. VBS has signed a three-year renewal deal to continue its sales partnership with Comcast.

Brad Wald, managing director of Europe for Comcast International Media Group, part of US cable platform Comcast, the world's biggest pay-TV platform by subscribers, said the channel would feature US programming at launch, but would later add UK commissions and acquisitions.

Series on the 24-hour channel will include Style Her Famous (featuring the character Jay Manuel), How Do I Look, Dress My Nest, Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?, Style Star and Stripped.
Wald said the channel would be "quite different" from the numerous lifestyle pay-TV channels in existence, such as those operated by Discovery and UKTV.

"Our programming will be young and edgy," he said. "If you do niche channels, you can attract audiences, but it is being strong in that niche that counts."

The channel is targeted at women aged from their mid-20s to early 30s, aiming to attract a similar audience level to sister channel E!, which had a weekly reach of 1.2 million viewers for the week ending 15 June.

The channel is available in Africa, Croatia, Malta, the Middle East, The Netherlands, Poland and Portugal, and is set to launch in Turkey.