STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) (‘MTG’ or ‘the Group’) (STO:MTGA) (STO:MTGB), the international entertainment broadcasting group, today announced that it will launch its third free-TV channel in the Czech Republic on 8 March. The new channel – Prima LOVE – will focus on attracting a 15-44 year old female audience and will complement sister channels TV Prima and Prima COOL. MTG is the second largest ‘media house’ in the Czech Republic.
Prima LOVE will be broadcast daily between 09.00 and 01.00 with a fun, informative and romantic format. The channel will feature high-end acquired international series including Glee, Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City, L-Word and Ally McBeal, as well as blockbuster romantic and comedy movies. The channel’s programming schedule will also include popular telenovelas such as El Rostro de Analia and Il Diablo, as well as infotainment shows hosted by well-known stars such as Jamie Oliver and Martha Stewart.
Prima LOVE will have an initial national penetration of more than 60% via the Czech digital terrestrial TV network, and will also be available for distribution through cable, satellite and IPTV networks.
MTG entered the Czech free-TV market in November 2005 by acquiring 50% plus management control of the company operating the TV Prima channel. The Prima COOL channel was subsequently launched in April 2009. TV Prima is a general entertainment channel, which had a 22.5% (18.9%) viewing share in its 15+ year old target group in the fourth quarter of 2010 according to measurement institute ATO Mediaresearch, while Prima COOL is focused on a young male audience and had a 6.2% (2.2%) viewing share in its 15-40 year old target group for the same period.
Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “The launch of Prima LOVE is in line with the ‘media house’ strategy that we have successfully deployed in most of the markets that we operate in. The strategy is to launch complementary and focused channels that target attractive demographics, and thereby build our overall viewing share and enhance the reach that we sell to advertisers. The launch of Prima LOVE is intended to continue to strengthen our competitive positioning, and enable us to take further advertising market share in the Czech Republic.”
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Modern Times Group is a leading international entertainment broadcasting group with the largest geographical broadcast footprint in Europe. MTG's Viasat Broadcasting is the leading free-TV and pay-TV operator in Scandinavia and the Baltics, and has broadcasting operations in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Russia, Ukraine and Ghana. Viasat’s free-TV and pay-TV channels and pay-TV platforms attract a total of 125 million viewers in 31 countries. MTG is also the major shareholder in Russia’s largest independent television broadcaster (CTC Media – Nasdaq: CTCM), and the number one commercial radio operator in the Nordic region.
Modern Times Group MTG AB Class A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm’s Large Cap index (‘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 10.00 CET on 17 February 2011.
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