MTG and Viacom sign Scandinavian online content and sales agreement
Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) (‘MTG’ or ‘the Group’), the international entertainment group, today announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Viacom International Media Networks (‘Viacom’) to include exclusive advertising-funded video on demand content from the MTV and Comedy Central channels in MTG’s free-TV online ‘catch-up’ services in Sweden, Norway and Denmark from 4 February. MTG will also handle advertising sales for Viacom’s online platforms, and sell the combined online reach of the MTG and Viacom online catch-up TV services to advertisers.
MTV and Comedy Central content will therefore be shown on TV3Play.se, TV6Play.se, TV8Play.se, and TV10Play.se in Sweden; and MTV content will be shown on TV3Play.no, Viasat4play.no and TV6Play.no in Norway, and on TV3Play.dk in Denmark.
The content includes MTV and Comedy Central hit formats like Catfish, Geordie Shore, Teen Mom and The Daily show, as well as an extensive library of successful TV series such as The Hills, Punked and Cribs. Kids TV series such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer from Viacom channel Nickelodeon are also already available through MTG’s Viaplay online pay-TV subscription service.
The online advertising sales agreement follows earlier agreements between MTG and Viacom, whereby MTG already sells airtime on Viacom’s linear channels MTV, Comedy Central and VH-1 as part of its free-TV advertising sales packages in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “This is a key new step in the development of our strong partnership with Viacom, and reflects our determination to be the leading online and offline provider of high quality and relevant entertainment products in all of our markets. This exciting content and sales agreement will provide our online viewers with even richer and more varied content experiences through multiple screens and devices, and provide our advertising customers with increased reach and impact”.
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For further information, please visit www.mtg.se or contact:
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, President & Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 46 (0) 8 562 000 50
Investors & Analysts
Tel: 46 (0) 73 699 2714
Email: investor.relations@mtg.se
Journalists
Tel: 46 (0) 73 699 2709
Email: press@mtg.se
Modern Times Group (MTG) is an international entertainment group with operations that span four continents and include free-TV, pay-TV, radio and content production businesses. MTG’s Viasat Broadcasting operates free-TV and pay-TV channels, which are available on Viasat’s own satellite platforms and third party networks, and also distributes TV content over the internet. MTG is also the largest shareholder in CTC Media, which is Russia’s leading independent television broadcaster.
Modern Times Group is a growth company and generated net sales of SEK 13.3 billion in 2012. MTG’s Class A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm’s Large Cap index under the symbols ‘MTGA’ and ‘MTGB’.
The information in this announcement is that which Modern Times Group MTG AB is required to disclose under the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. It was released for publication at 08:00 CET on 30 January 2014.