Disney in Venture for Free-to-Air Russian Channel

MOSCOW/BURBANK, December
17: The Walt Disney Company is launching a branded free-to-air channel in
Russia as part of a joint venture with the local broadcasting company Media-One
Holdings.

The family-oriented
entertainment channel will be carried on 30 stations owned and operated by
Media-One across Russia. It will feature content from the Disney stable, as
well as local fare, both acquired and original. The rollout of the channel is
slated for 2009, pending approval from Russian authorities.

Disney will have a
49-percent stake in the venture, and will inject cash, programming, marketing
expertise and support for content acquisitions. Media-One will contribute its
experience in the Russian market, its local broadcast station portfolio and its
sales expertise.

"Russia is an
extremely important market for Disney and this new Disney channel is a great
way for us to expand our brand and business," said Robert A. Iger, the
president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. "We are incredibly excited
about bringing great Disney family entertainment and locally-produced content
into the homes of millions of Russians."

"We are delighted to
sign this landmark deal with the world’s leading multinational media company
for the Russian television market," said Ivan Tavrin, the CEO of
Media-One. "We believe that the combination of Disney's unparalleled media
experience and content capabilities and our knowledge of the local television
market will enable us to create a unique channel that is predestined for
success. We set ourselves the goal not only to become a popular kids and family
focused free-to-air television channel in the country, but also to produce
attractive financial results in a relatively short time frame."

—By Mansha Daswani