MTG launches movie channel in Israel
Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) (‘MTG’ or ‘the Group’), the international entertainment group, today announced that TV1000 Russian Kino launched in Israel on 15 June. The Russian language movie channel is available on the yes satellite platform and the launch increases MTG’s global footprint to 38 countries.
The channel is part of the Russian Super Premium package and will also be available on the yesGo multi-screen TV Everywhere service. In addition, feature movies from the channel are available on yes’ video on demand service. In total, there are approximately one million Russian speakers in Israel.
The yes platform reaches approximately 600,000 households, which is equivalent to 40% of Israel’s total number of pay-TV households. Yes was the first company to offer digital broadcasts and interactive television services in the country.
TV1000 Russian Kino shows original Russian language movies, ranging from recent hits such as the massively popular Yolki franchise and Legenda 17 to classic library titles. TV1000 Russian Kino is the most popular pay-TV channel in Russia, reaching over 26 million viewers every month, and is also available in the US.
Irina Gofman, MTG Executive Vice President and CEO of the Group’s Russian, CIS and Pay-TV Emerging Markets operations, commented: “TV1000 Russian Kino is the most popular Russian language movie channel in the world and features the latest and best movies the country has to offer, so we are thrilled that our expansion of the reach of this channel continues. Our portfolio of factual and movie channels tell amazing stories in scripted and non-scripted formats and are now regarded as must-have channels by pay-TV operators worldwide.”
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG President and CEO, commented: “Our wholesale channel business has constantly expanded into new markets since it was launched more than ten years ago. This is the second new market that we have entered this year after Turkey in January. We now have almost 100 million subscriptions to our channels, which shows just how much viewers love our content. The journey continues!”
Ron Eilon, CEO of yes dbs Satellite Services (1998) Ltd., commented: “yes is happy to announce the launch of TV1000 Russian Kino channel on our platform. The Russian speaking audience constitutes a large and important part of yes’s subscriber base. The launch of a new and contemporary channel, specialising in the best Russian language movies, proves that yes is consistently investing in, and improving, its offering to the Russian speaking audience.”
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For further information, please visit www.mtg.se or contact:
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Tel: + 46 (0) 73 699 2714
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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 14.1 billion in 2013. 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 16 June 2014.
