Cable broadcaster HBO has announced an April launch for its Bulgarian service, with subtitled American films running alongside European productions, events and concerts 24 hours a day on weekdays and 18 hours on weekends.

Bulgarian cable companies Msat, Eurocom Cable, Eurocom Plovdiv, Skat and Telecable are lined up to host the channel, according to the company's subsidiary for Central and Eastern Europe, HBO Central Europe.

In a press release, HBO Central Europe CEO Phil Roter said the expansion is part of HBO's "on-going effort to find new opportunities" in the region. The company cited economic growth, copyright enforcement and consolidation of the cable market as factors making Bulgaria an attractive investment.

HBO Central Europe, comprising a group of partnerships between HBO (a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner), Columbia TriStar International Television (subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment) and Buena Vista International Television (a Disney subsidiary), currently provides seven pay channels in each of the six countries in which it operates.

HBO Bulgaria will broadcast over 100 films in its first month of operations, including Eyes Wide Shut, American Beauty, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Perfect Storm, The Bone Collector, Three Kings, and Entrapment, along with Band Of Brothers, the miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.