NEW YORK, June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon has
announced a multi-year content licensing agreement with Scripps
Networks Interactive, one of the world's leading developers of
lifestyle video content, for Verizon's mobile first video offering.
The agreement includes content from Scripps Networks Interactive
brands including Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY Network
and Cooking Channel and will be available to Verizon Wireless
customers later this year.
More than 45 compelling lifestyle series will be available for
streaming on the mobile first video offering including House
Hunters, (HGTV), Cutthroat Kitchen (Food Network), Bizarre Foods,
(Travel Channel), Rehab Addict (DIY Network) and My Grandmother's
Ravioli (Cooking Channel).
"As mobile consumption continues to increase, it's important
that we provide audiences with the opportunity to enjoy the series
and videos they love across the fullest possible range of devices,"
said Henry Ahn, executive vice
president of content distribution for Scripps Networks Interactive.
"Great content will always connect with audiences, and this
agreement with Verizon provides new and existing viewers with
another way to engage with our powerful lifestyle brands."
"Beyond convenience, it is first-choice content on a
first-choice platform," said Terry
Denson, vice president of content strategy and acquisition
at Verizon. "And being able to deliver this seamlessly via mobile,
to an audience that is passionate about these genres is that much
more powerful."
In the US, young millennials' (18-24 year olds) OTT consumption
of original digital video increased 21 percent in 2014 according to
a recent study done by NScreenMedia, and while OTT viewership on
PCs is still most popular among millennials, smartphone viewing
increased 10 percent from 2014 to 2015 according to an Interactive
Advertising Bureau (IAB) study. Consumers increasingly demand 24/7
access to great entertainment, informative programs and popular
videos, no matter where they are and no matter what wireless device
they have in their pockets.
About Scripps Networks Interactive
Scripps
Networks Interactive, Inc. is one of the leading developers of
engaging lifestyle content in the home, food and travel categories
for television, the Internet and emerging platforms. The company's
lifestyle media portfolio comprises popular television and Internet
brands HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel
Channel and Great American Country, which collectively reach more
than 177 million consumers each month. Companion websites
complement on-air programming with video and social media that
inform and inspire. The company's global networks reach millions of
consumers across North and South
America, Asia, Europe, the Middle
East and Africa. Scripps
Networks Interactive is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in
New York, delivers broadband and
other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer,
business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless
operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 108.6
million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides
converged communications, information and entertainment services
over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers
integrated business solutions to customers worldwide. For more
information, visit www.verizon.com/news/.
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SOURCE Verizon