Mediaset Premium, the digital-terrestrial pay-television service from the Italian commercial broadcaster, is poised to announce the details of its new free-to-air channels later this month and of new premium channels in early December. After initially planning to launch up to eight premium channels, Mediaset was forced to revise its "too cost-intensive and risky" expansion. It is understood that four pay channels and two free-to-air services will launch early next year. Marco Leonardi, director of Mediaset Premium, refused to reveal the number of pay channels set to launch or their genres, but said that a final line-up had been decided and would be announced soon. He added that the new channels were likely to be based on the pay-per-view model that Mediaset uses for sports and movies, which uses rechargeable smart cards, rather than a monthly subscription. In September Mediaset announced deals with US studios Warner Bros and Universal that are likely to provide content for the new channels.
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