Globally, the trend in the TV market is clearly moving toward pay TV and video on demand. A1 Telekom Austria Group takes this international development into account by renewing and extending the distribution of both Mezzo and Mezzo Live HD channels – the worldwide reference for classical music – on the A1 Pay-TV platforms in Central and Eastern Europe. After the offers have already been available in the Group markets in Croatia and Belarus, Mezzo and Mezzo Live HD will be available soon on A1’s Pay-TV platforms in Bulgaria and North Macedonia.
In addition to securing the extended distribution of both channels in the CEE region, THEMA, a Canal+ company, also helped MEZZO renew its technical partnership with A1 Group’s Broadcasting division which provides satellite services for Mezzo Live HD’s signal over the Asia-Pacific region including uplink and satellite capacity on the APSTAR-9 satellite.
“We are excited about this new cooperation which strengthens our partnership and allows us to expand the MEZZO channels also in the two new markets within the A1 Group footprint. It helps accelerate the distribution not only in Europe but also in the Asia-Pacific area and confirms impressively that A1 Group´s Broadcasting division is a reliable technical partner for TV channels globally”, says Elena Petrova, Head of Broadcast & SAT Services, International Business, at A1 Telekom Austria Group.
Hervé Boissière, CEO MEZZO, comments: “This new expanded partnership with A1 Telekom Austria Group in Europe and in Asia is key to Mezzo, as it allows Mezzo and Mezzo Live HD to always reach further audiences globally, who can enjoy the very best of high-quality classical music, dance and jazz.”
“THEMA is extremely happy to consolidate and broaden MEZZO’s cooperation with A1 Telekom Austria Group. Not only in Europe, but also all over Asia-Pacific, thanks to a new, stronger distribution and technical agreement, enabling Mezzo and Mezzo Live HD to continue offering the best of opera, classical music, jazz and dance all around the world”, says Philippe Rouxel, EVP Worldwide Distribution, THEMA.
Only recently, A1 Austria and Canal + have announced an international partnership aiming to develop local Austrian on-demand offers.

About MEZZO
Founded in 1998, Mezzo operates and broadcasts two different and complementary pay TV channels and a VOD offer, all dedicated to classical music, jazz and dance: Mezzo and Mezzo Live HD. Distributed in more than 80 countries, Mezzo is received by 60 million households around the world. The motto of Mezzo is quality: artistic quality as well as technical quality. Thanks to its partnerships with the best musical institutions, venues, orchestras, festivals or ballets from all over the world, and guided by passion, Mezzo is dedicated to find the most exciting performances in the world, featuring the greatest names in music and dance today, and the new talents of tomorrow. Mezzo works with 80 production companies to acquire the rights to 350 hours each year of new opera, concert (classical and jazz) and ballet programs.

About THEMA – a CANAL+ Group Company
Founded in 2005, THEMA now includes five subsidiaries overseas. The company represents 180 channels as well as SVOD/VOD/OTT in HD and 4K covering a wide range of thematic, and has created strong relationships with the main television platforms in Europe, in Asia, in the Middle-East, in Africa and in North America, thanks to its expertise in TV content distribution, TV packaging and marketing strategy. For more information, please visit www.thematv.com