MTG Premieres Viasat Ukraine Satellite Pay-TV Platform

STOCKHOLM, April 16:
Modern Times Group (MTG) will launch the Viasat Ukraine DTH satellite platform
on Monday, April 21, which will become the first licensed digital premium
satellite operator in the country.

Vision TV will roll out
the Viasat Ukraine service, following the joint-venture partnership established
between MTG and Strong Media Group in September 2007. Viasat Ukraine’s initial
offerings will consist of three pay-TV packages: Viasat Family, Viasat Popular
and Viasat Prestige—offering up to 60 Ukrainian, Russian and
international channels, and ranging in price from UAH 48 (approximately $10) to
UAH 135 (approximately $28) per month.

Viasat Ukraine’s channel
lineup includes Viasat’s own TV1000, TV1000 Russian Kino, Viasat History and
Viasat Explorer channels, as well as popular third-party international channels
such as the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Zone Reality, Zone
Club, Extreme Sports Channel, Ohota I Rybalka (Hunting and Fishing) and Drive.
Additional thematic channels to be included on the platform include children’s
entertainment channels like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and KidsCo; movie
channels TV XXI, TCM, MGM and Hallmark; music channels MTV Ukraine and VH1; and
news channels CNN, BBC World, Euronews, Deutsche Welle and France 24. The
service will also introduce FoxCrime, FoxLife and AXN Sci Fi to the Ukrainian
market, and subscribers will be able to access the national Ukrainian TV
channels STB, ICTV, Novy Kanal, TRK Ukraina and 1+1.

The Viasat service will
use MPEG-4 compression technology and the DVB-S2 standard, and be received on a
Viasat-branded satellite receiver. The service is encrypted with the NDS
VideoGuard conditional access system and is delivered via the Sirius 4
satellite.

Hans-Holger
Albrecht, the president and CEO of MTG, commented: “We are delighted to
announce the launch of our satellite pay-TV platform in Ukraine and look
forward to offering Viasat branded pay-TV services in the second largest country
in Eastern Europe. We have the ideal partner, in Strong Media, to roll out our
services, and we will be the first to market with a tiered package offering of
high-quality content, which combines the best in well established local
channels and well known international channel brands.”

Continued Albrecht: “Our
focus is on pushing the penetration of pay-TV services in one of the region’s
fastest growing and most vibrant economies. Our Viasat channels are already
well known in the market and provide a solid base for the development of the
platform. This is an important step in the further development of our
broadcasting footprint and highlights the attractiveness of satellite as a
means of rapid and efficient deployment of pay-TV services.”

—By Irene Lew