LONDON, March 29: The Japanese video-on-demand company Gakken Index has secured the broadband VOD rights to more than 400 hours of Granada International programming and will supply that content, branded Granada Broadband, to all major IPTV services in Japan.

Titles included in the deal, among others, are Agatha Christie’s Poirot, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sharpe, Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect, Cracker, Tales of the Unexpected and The Worst Witch. In addition, Gakken Index will also create digital versions of masters of the programming, market the service and create Japanese versions of new shows to launch on IPTV servers.

Gakken Index was established by Gakken, a leading educational content and publishing company and Index, an IT and mobile phone technology and solution servicing company.

Nadine Nohr, the MD at Granada International, commented: “The global VOD market is an exciting opportunity for our extensive programming portfolio. To protect all our client’s interests we have to ensure that the deal works on a number of significant levels and we are thrilled to be dealing with Gakken Index, which has its roots in two long established and well-regarded companies in Japan. We are particularly pleased to have our own brand—Granada Broadband—which will allow IPTV customers to choose our programming knowing that it has a high pedigree.”