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History channel programming comes to Presto

Presto will commemorate the centenary of the First World War and the centenary of service by offering on-demand access to a range of exclusive documentary programming from Foxtel’s History channel.

Presto TV and Presto Entertainment subscribers will be able to view the History channel’s acclaimed and exclusive locally-produced five-part series The Memorial: Beyond the ANZAC and Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty, which will have its world premiere on the History channel on Tuesday, March 31 at 7.30pm. Episodes of Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty will be available to stream ad-free on Presto just seven days after they air on the History channel.

Presto will also offer the History channel’s ASTRA Award winning and Logie Award nominated locally produced documentary The Battle of Long Tan and documentary specials For Valour, The ANZAC Spirit, The Digger: A History and Beyond Kokoda, as part of the Presto TV and Presto Entertainment bundle service.

In addition to this exciting programming initiative, to further commemorate the centenary of service, Presto has partnered with the Camp Gallipoli Foundation to offer new subscribers, in the lead up to the Camp Gallipoli events being staged throughout Australia on April 24 and 25, a complimentary two month trial of the Presto Entertainment bundle~. This offer is available from March 26 to April 26 and will include access to all of Presto’s TV and movie content, including access to Presto’s specially curated commemorative programming.

To experience Presto’s commemorative offer, new Presto customers can visit www.presto.com.au/campgallipoli and sign up today. Customers can also gain access to discounted tickets to the Camp Gallipoli events by visiting www.presto.com.au/campgallipoli and following the prompts.

At the end of the two month commemorative offer period, promo customers keen to stay on as Presto subscribers can choose between the Presto TV or Presto Movies subscriptions, respectively $9.99 a month each, or continue with a Presto Entertainment (TV and movies) bundle subscription for $14.99 a month, with no ongoing commitment*.

“Camp Gallipoli is delighted to be partnering with Presto as we commemorate the centenary of service and the ANZAC spirit,” Camp Gallipoli CEO Chris Fox said.

“Presto’s ability to bring together some of Australia’s most emotive and inspiring content from the History channel in an on-demand collection provides a chance for Australians to actively rediscover a positive national identity.

“Camp Gallipoli is also offering Presto customers the opportunity to share the essence of the iconic Gallipoli experience, by participating in a vigil under the stars, followed by a dawn service, as Australia commemorates 100 years of ANZAC spirit.”

Programming summary

The Memorial: Beyond the ANZAC
Join internationally renowned historian and archaeologist Neil Oliver as he takes viewers behind the scenes at the Australian War Memorial to commemorate both the centenary of the First World War and the centenary of service. The five-part series provides unprecedented access over a 12-month period to the Australian War Memorial’s vast archives and looks at some of the personal stories which re-invigorate Australia’s connection to the First World War.

Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty
A celebration of our heroic local war stories, this 10-part series hosted by legendary actor, comedian, historian and television host Sir Tony Robinson, focuses on the lives of the people who went to war and those who stayed home, both heroes and ordinary people and what the war meant to Australian and New Zealanders, then and now. Tony visits towns including Toowoomba, Newcastle, Auckland, Hahndorf, Bathurst, Launceston, Ballarat, Dunedin, Darwin and Fremantle. Episodes of Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty will be made available seven days after they air on the History channel.

The Battle of Long Tan
This award winning 90 minute documentary honours and pays tribute to the true story of one of Australia’s greatest every military encounters, during which 108 Australian and New Zealand soldiers held off and ultimately defeated more than 2500 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops in a rubber plantation at Long Tan on August 18, 1966.

For Valour
Made exclusively for the History channel, For Valour is a one hour special bringing to life the heroic stories marked along the Remembrance Highway which runs between Sydney and Canberra's Australian War Memorial. These unsung war heroes are memorialised with the Remembrance Driveway with the unassuming rest areas and interchanges named after Australian servicemen thought to best represent those who fought for their country: including 22 Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross Medal – 19 from the Second World War and three from the Vietnam War.

The ANZAC Spirit
When things are tough – on the sports field, in the face of natural disaster – we summon the ANZAC spirit. In this half-hour documentary Neil Pigot tells six stories of the ANZACs, bringing them to life with photographs, documents and objects of the Australian War Memorial. Each story illustrates the very best of mateship, courage, humour, ingenuity, endurance and individualism – the characteristics that encapsulate the ANZAC spirit.

The Digger: A History
Countries have affectionate names for their soldiers. In Australia, you’ve got The Digger. The digger’s story is of fierce attack and resolute defence, of characteristic humour and of questionable discipline. It is also, surprisingly, more truthful than most military legends, more fact than myth. This 90-minute documentary takes viewers on a journey to some of the key battlefields our Diggers have fought.

Beyond Kokoda
Narrated by Australian actor Christopher Baker, this two hour documentary explores one of the most defining moments in Australian military history – the Kokoda Campaign. Told from both the Australian and Japanese soldiers’ perspectives, the program features the harrowing and personal stories of the Kokoda Trail battle, which waged from July 1942 to February 1943, along a muddy, precipitous track that traverses the mountainous spine of New Guinea’s Owen Stanley Range.