MTG Preps DTH Service for Ukraine

STOCKHOLM, September 10: Modern Times Group is aligning with
Strong Media Group (SMG)—the owner of Strong International, a leading
provider of digital TV set-top box decoders—to launch the first digital
premium DTH operator in Ukraine, under its Viasat brand.

Viasat Ukraine will offer a range of Ukrainian and Russian
channels, as well as locally customized international channels, including
Viasat’s own Viasat History, Viasat Explorer, TV1000 East and TV1000 Russian
Kino channels. Viasat Ukraine, previously known as Vision TV, is the first
operator to be awarded a DTH satellite broadcasting license by the Ukrainian
government. The service is owned 50-50 by MTG and SMG. The platform will be
encrypted with the NDS VideoGuard conditional access system.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, the president and CEO of MTG,
commented: “The launch of the new Viasat-branded platform in the Ukraine is an
important development in our expansion and growth strategy, and demonstrates
the value of our integrated platform and channel offering. The Ukraine is one
of the largest and fastest-growing markets in Eastern Europe. The partnership
structure provides a strong combination of local and regional broadcasting
experience and expertise, and is expected to enable us to achieve an
accelerated development in this exciting market.”

In other MTG news, the company launched a new channel,
Viasat 4, in Norway this weekend to coincide with the live broadcast of the
UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier between Moldova and Norway, which attracted over
320,000 viewers. Viasat 4 is a broad general interest and entertainment
channel, and has been made available on Viasat’s DTH satellite platform through
the Norwegian digital terrestrial television (DTT) pay-TV operator RiksTV, and
via third-party cable networks. The channel currently reaches 50 percent of
Norwegian households.

It will feature a broad range of content including news
produced by P4 Radio, documentaries, series, movies and premium sports
including Formula One racing and UEFA Champions League football. As in Sweden,
ZTV will be refocused as a youth oriented Internet TV channel.

Albrecht said: “The launch of Viasat 4 follows the
successful launch of TV6 in Sweden in May 2006, Viasat 4 aims to replicate the
rapid penetration growth and increased commercial share of viewing generated by
TV6 in Sweden. The launch of the new channel is another step in our
multichannel strategy and builds further on the success of TV3 Norway.”