MTG: Viasat to Launch New Pay-TV Channel in 25 Countries across Central and Eastern Europe

31 March 2010

Modern Times Group announced that Viasat Broadcasting will launch new channel Viasat Nature East on 3 May 2010. The new channel is an international version of its Nordic Viasat Nature pay-TV channel and will reach 25 countries in Central & Eastern Europe. The Group’s Emerging Markets wholesale pay-TV business had over 40 million subscriptions at the end of 2009.

A Nordic version of the channel has been available to viewers since 1998, and has been broadcast under the Viasat Nature brand in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland since 2002.

Viasat Nature East will be broadcast on Viasat’s own satellite TV platforms in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine from launch. The channel will also be made available on Raduga TV, the Russian satellite TV operator. MTG acquired 50% of Raduga TV in February 2010. In addition, Viasat Nature will be made available to third-party operators in the 25 Central & Eastern European countries which currently are covered by the Group’s Emerging Markets wholesale pay-TV channel business.

The channel will broadcast award-winning nature, animal and wildlife-focused content, and will feature acquired programmes from a broad range of providers including BBC, ITV Global, ORF and TWI. Viasat Broadcasting’s pay-TV channel business in Central & Eastern Europe currently comprises the TV1000 East, TV1000 Poland, TV1000 Balkan, TV1000 Russian Kino, TV1000 Action East, Viasat Sport East, Viasat History and Viasat Explorer channels. The Group also makes the TV1000 Premium, Viasat Sport Baltic, Viasat Golf and Viasat Hockey channels available in the Baltic region.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, President & CEO of MTG, commented: “The launch of Viasat Nature East highlights the strength of our business model, which allows us to export successful Nordic concepts to a broad range of platforms and channels in the Emerging Markets. The launch of Viasat Nature East will be our most extensive launch to date in terms of geographies, and we look forward to expanding the offering to our viewers even further.”

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