MTG Signs Danish Carriage Agreements

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has signed a new carriage agreement for TV3 and TV3 PULS on Canal Digital Denmark’s satellite platform, along with inking a pact to include SBS Broadcasting’s free-TV channels in MTG’s Danish pay-TV offerings.

Canal Digital will add TV3 and TV3 PULS to its "Local" satellite pay-TV package starting next month. This follows the signing of a channel distribution agreement in November 2013 for TV3 and TV3 Puls to join Box TV-Access’s digital terrestrial platform.

SBS’s Kanal 4 and Kanal 5 free-TV channels are being added to MTG’s Viasat "Bonus" satellite pay-TV package starting in February. SBS’s Danish free-TV channels will also be available as part of Viasat’s channel package offering on the Waoo! IPTV network. In November 2012, MTG singed a deal to make C More Entertainment’s Canal 8 Sport and Canal 9 Danish pay-TV channels available on MTG’s satellite pay-TV platform and as part of the Waoo! network.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, the president and CEO of MTG, commented: “The ground-breaking agreements we have signed over the last few months will be transformational for our Danish TV broadcasting business. They will substantially strengthen the competitive positions of both our free-TV and pay-TV offerings, and provide incremental advertising, subscription and carriage fee revenue potential moving forward.

“Our free-TV channels will be far more broadly available, which will enable us to offer significantly enhanced reach for advertisers and compete more closely with the incumbent. At the same time, our pay-TV platform and channel packages not only provide an unrivaled premium content offering, but will now also include all of the major free-TV channels in Denmark for the first time. We are offering more content to more viewers on more devices and platforms than ever before, in order to provide consumers with more choice as to how they access our entertainment content.

“The anticipated effects of these agreements are included in, and therefore do not alter, our previously provided full year 2013 outlook statement for our Nordic pay-TV operations and business segment.”