Italy Gets Animal Planet

Discovery Networks International will launch Animal Planet in Italy May 1.

The programmer said Animal Planet reaches more than 237 million subscribers in 160 countries and 24 languages worldwide.

The network will offer a localized schedule with programming customized in Italian, and it will be distributed exclusively on the Sky Italia direct-broadcast satellite platform.

“Animal Planet transcends cultural differences and translates effortlessly into diverse markets worldwide, and we are confident that Italian viewers will fall in love with this brand as quickly as our other international viewers on six different continents already have,” Animal Planet International senior vice president and general manager Peter Weil said in a prepared statement.