Digitaltveurope.com

Dutch cable operator Ziggo has signed a two-year sports video deal with youth-focused broadcaster The QYou.

Under the agreement, The QYou – a linear TV service that aims to bring the ‘best of the web’ to pay TV – will deliver 225 episodes of short-form sports videos to Ziggo.

The ‘Q-Sport’ shows will be created for the newly launched Ziggo Sport channel and will feature a curated mix of videos covering sports like surfing, football, BMX, motorcross racing, skiing, skateboarding, basketball and parkour.

The deal marks the The QYou’s first commercial rollout of tailored programming for a TV operator.

“We know how popular sports content is, and are committed to making our dedicated channel entirely unique, filled with unique content,” said Will Moerer, general manager of Ziggo Sport.

“We’ve seen that new diverse formats are contributing to renewed enthusiasm for sports content, and our deal with The QYou allows us to bring our subscribers access to premium content ranging from big league games to amazing footage of incredible sporting skill that is rarely seen on TV.”

The QYou co-founder and CEO, Scott Ehrlich, added: “As tastes have changed, today’s viewers want to see a much broader range of sporting activities in addition to premier and major league sports. It’s extremely exciting that Ziggo has recognised that these different formats offer new ways to capture viewer interest, and have decided to choose QYou’s programming to strengthen its brand new sports channel.”

Ireland-based The QYou is a linear network focused on high-quality, curated web videos. Since launching in October 2014 The QYou has launched in 35 countries across three continents. In November the firm also launched an authenticated app aimed at its operator partners.