TRACE Sports launch in Israel

TRACE Sports inks carriage deal with HOT, Israel’s leading triple play provider.

In partnership with Imagine Media, TRACE Sports is celebrating launching in Israel for the first time, as its rapid global expansion continues.

The channel’s most recent agreement sees it sign a carriage deal with HOT, Israel’s leading triple play provider. HOT has more than 900,000 subscribers – approximately 60% of the country’s multi-channel television market share. TRACE Sports will launch in Israel as a localized channel with full Hebrew subtitles, and will feature items on local sports celebrities, which will be produced and operated by Imagine Media Israel Ltd.

Ron Hermelin, Head of Channels at HOT, said “TRACE Sports expects to address a wide audience among sports fans who are interested in the private lives of the world’s biggest sports stars. HOT will continue to bring new and unique channels from around the world, providing the best experience to our viewers in a variety of areas.”

As part of the distribution deal, TRACE Sports will be available on channel 52 to all HOT subscribers on their basic package, for no additional fee.

TRACE Sports has signed successful carriage deals with some of the world’s leading TV and Telco operators, including the UK’s largest pay-TV broadcaster BskyB, DStv in South Africa, Aljazeera in the Middle East, and Megacable in Latin America. The channel is also expected to launch into the US within the coming months.

Laurent Dumeau, CEO, TRACE Sports, said “After successful launches in Europe, Asia and Latin America, TRACE Sports continues its fast growing expansion in the Middle East. We are delighted to be expanding our footprint to Israel with a major deal with one of Israel’s major operators, HOT.”