Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) (‘MTG’ or ‘the Group’)(STO:MTGA)(STO:MTGB), the international entertainment broadcasting group, today announced that it has entered into a strategic cooperation with Samsung Electronics Nordic. MTG’s Viaplay service is now available on all 2011 Samsung Smart TVs and 2010 Internet@TV sets across the Nordic region. Viewers simply need to subscribe to Viaplay in order to access the service.
The Viaplay pan-Nordic multi-screen on-demand service makes Viasat Broadcasting’s pay-TV content offering available across the Nordic countries on any internet-connected device including computers, smart phones, tablets and TV sets. The service comprises a unique offering of premium live sports coverage, thousands of blockbuster movies, hit TV series and catch-up services.
Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “This cooperation with one of the leaders in digital media and digital convergence technologies will make our unrivalled pay-TV content and service offering available even more broadly and simply. We are committed to delivering ’Entertainment at Your Command’ by making Viaplay available at any time and on any device. This agreement is another important step towards realizing this goal.”
Robert Widerström, Nordic Marketing Manager, Consumer Products at Samsung, commented: “The cooperation with Viasat Broadcasting means that we can now can offer an even greater variety of entertainment on our Smart TV sets. With Viaplay’s app, our customers can view what they want and when they want, and we are glad to be able to offer this possibility together with Viasat.”
***
Modern Times Group is an international entertainment broadcasting group with the largest geographical broadcast footprint in Europe. MTG's Viasat Broadcasting operates 28 free-TV channels in 11 countries and 38 pay-tv channels in 32 countries. The pay-tv channels are distributed on Viasat’s own satellite platforms in 9 countries, as well as on third party broadcast networks (including cable, satellite and IPTV) and over the open internet. These free-TV and pay-TV channels and pay-TV platforms attract a total of 125 million viewers in 33 countries. MTG is also the largest shareholder in Russia’s leading independent television broadcaster (CTC Media – Nasdaq: CTCM).
Modern Times Group is a growth company and generated SEK 13.1 billion of sales and SEK 2.4 billion of operating income in 2010. MTG’s Class A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm’s Large Cap index under the symbols ‘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 13.00 CET on 31 August 2011.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2010 consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion. Employing approximately 190,500 people in 206 offices across 68 countries, the company consists of nine independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Memory, System LSI and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, semiconductor chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.