Foxtel Arts gets live music footage from BBC

The new Foxtel Arts channel, which launched on the weekend, gets about 100 hours of live music footage via a deal with BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand.

These include Later with Jools Holland, which includes performances by U2 and Sam Smith and live performances as Il Divo: A Musical Affair—Live in Japan, Pixies: Live at Maida Vale Studio and Live Lounge: Florence and the Machine.

These are set to be aired during Saturday nights, which is when the pop and rock content will screen.

Fraser Stark, Arts Channel Manager, said the channel is targeting a “niche passionate audience” and will actively participate in Australian events and festivals.

He said of the BBC deal, "When sourcing content to program a premium arts channel, to curating performance and documentary programming of intelligence and breadth, it would be hard to find a richer vein to tap than that of the BBC. Across our factual arts genres, and in a variety of performances specials and series, we have, somewhat unsurprisingly, sourced television of the highest caliber derived from various art forms and intended for a wide range of interests and tastes."

It will screen Live Performance Australia’s Helpmann Awards in June.

Foxtel Arts replaces the SBS-owned STUDIO channel after its deal with SBS ran out. It covers opera, ballet, music, theatre, dance, cabaret, classical and contemporary performance, documentary specials and series from cinema, literature, music, visual art and artists.