Jetix Italy bosses buy GXT and K2 channels

Management at Jetix Italy have agreed to buy out the Jetix spin-off channels GXT and K2.

Jetix Italy bosses, headed by managing director Francesco Nespega, have reached a preliminary agreement with Jetix’s owner Disney for full control of the two channels. They will launch new company, Switchover Media, which will be based in Rome and develop a range of other channels for the Italian market.

GXT is a youth-skewed channel that launched in 2005 and reaches 4.7 million homes via the Sky Italia pay-TV platform. K2 is a free-to-air channel carried on terrestrial and pay-TV.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Having taken full control of Jetix last year, Disney is in the process of rebranding the channels to Disney XD, its own boy-skewed brand. Jetix was the brand used after Disney bought Fox Kids Europe and decided to rename the channels. Jetix Italy will become Disney XD this autumn.