MTG prolongs exclusive rights to Barclays Premier League football in the Baltics
Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) (‘MTG’ or ‘the Group’), the international entertainment broadcasting group, today announced that it has prolonged the exclusive television broadcasting rights to England’s Barclays Premier League in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on all platforms, from the start of the 2013/2014 season until the end of the 2015/2016 season.
The rights include exclusive coverage of all 38 rounds of the Barclays Premier League. Approximately 100 matches will be broadcast with local commentary on the premium pay-TV sports channel Viasat Sport Baltic. MTG will also get access to additional programmes featuring highlights, profiles and analysis. MTG has broadcast the Barclays Premier League in the Baltics since the start of the 2010/2011 season.
MTG’s portfolio of football rights in the Baltic region include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, the English FA Cup, the German cup competition DfB Pokal and the German men’s national football team’s home games. MTG also holds the broadcasting rights for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in the Baltics. Other key sports rights in the region include FIBA Eurobasket, FIBA World Cup, Turkish Airlines Euroleague, Formula One, the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, Kontinental Hockey League, ATP tennis, and major regional sports events.
In the Baltics, MTG’s sport pay-TV channel portfolio currently comprises Viasat Sport Baltic, Viasat Motor, Viasat Motor HD and Viasat Golf. The channels are available on the Viasat DTH satellite platforms in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as from third-party cable and IPTV networks as part of the Viasat Sport or Viasat Combo packages.
The rights have been acquired from Saran Holding, a leading Turkish business conglomerate, which is active in a broad range of sectors including media and sports.
MTG also holds the TV broadcasting rights to England’s Barclays Premier League in Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria.
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “The Barclays Premier League is the best domestic club football competition in the world, and we are very excited to be able to continue offering it to our viewers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Our portfolio of premium sports rights in the Baltics is unrivalled and the new agreement cements our position for the next years to come.
“When the 2013/2014 seasons of Barclays Premier League kicks off on 17 August, we will be broadcasting it in six countries, and we are looking forward to providing our viewers with a wide range of premium coverage from the very first match to the last kick of the ball in May.”
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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
Matthew Hooper, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 7768 440 414
Email: investor.relations@mtg.se / press@mtg.se
Modern Times Group (MTG) is an international entertainment broadcasting 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 19 August 2013.