Hollywood studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) has announced it is teaming up with a pay-TV firm to launch two channels in Africa.

The new deal is aimed at giving subscribers in the region access to the studio's vast library of English language films, with more than 4,000 available for broadcast on TV.

These will include Woody Allen's film Annie Hall, baseball comedy Bull Durham, starring Kevin Costner and The Pink Panther films, featuring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.

The company's broadcast unit, MGM Networks, will supply content in conjunction with South Africa-based digital satellite company Multichoice Africa.

African viewers will see Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films

If the channels receive regulatory approval, they could be switched on within a month.

"Africa represents a real milestone in our network expansion initiatives," said a spokesman for MGM Networks.

"With this deal, MGM now has equity interests in channels that reach every inhabited continent across the globe."

As well as the two English-language channels, MGM also plans to provide a Portuguese language service to subscribers in Guinea Bissau, Angola and Mozambique.

MGM's TV division currently has movie channels operating in more than 90 countries.

Speculation

However, the studio, famous for such classics as Some Like It Hot and Ben Hur, is struggling to deliver consistently profitable films.

Recent hits have included comedy Legally Blonde, teen horror film Jeepers Creepers and the continuing James Bond franchise.

However, high-profile pictures such as the remake of Rollerball and the World War II drama Windtalkers, starring Nicolas Cage, have failed to make a major impact.

There has been frequent speculation that the studio, currently owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, is to be sold or merged with a larger company.