Outside Television has signed a new multi-year distribution agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative, making available to more than 950 small and mid-sized cable providers that make up the active core of the buying cooperative. NCTC members, along with members of the American Cable Association, are meeting starting Sunday at The Independent Show in San Diego.
Outside said the agreement, coupled with distribution deals with the likes of Comcast Xfinity, makes the independent network available to more than 40 million homes. Outside, programmed in connection with Outside Magazine, is a reformatted (in 2010) outgrowth of the former Resort Sports Network.
“Today’s video landscape is incredibly dynamic, and independents keep striving to fulfill cable’s original promise – delivering high-quality programs to serve and inspire a specific lifestyle,” Dennis Gillespie, senior vice president of distribution for Outside Television, said in a prepared statement. “Outside is pleased to join the thousands of local systems NCTC members represent as future partners in our stated mission to encourage people to develop their own intense appreciation for the world outside.”
"Outside TV brings a broad variety of content to those seeking to enhance their outdoor lifestyle," Judy Meyka, NCTC’s EVP-Programming, said in the statement. "Our independent operators and independent networks like Outside share a bond that's becoming more important than ever, and so we're happy to offer our more than 950 local operators an opportunity to bring Outside TV to their customers."
Comcast launched Outside a year ago in June and has rolled it out beyond initial core systems in key cities including Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, Atlanta and Seattle to make it available to nearly all Comcast households, the network said.
