Advanced Television

Viaplay and MTGx merge

March 27, 2014

Modern Times Group (MTG), the international entertainment group, has announced that its Viaplay online pay-TV business and MTGx digital accelerator will merge to create a digital entertainment powerhouse under the leadership of Rikard Steiber, MTG Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer.

Viaplay, which was launched in 2011, is MTG’s largest digital business and offers an extensive choice of box office movies, TV series and live sports events from around the world. Viaplay’s on demand content offering is available on a standalone basis to subscribers through a range of Internet connected devices, and also as a multi-screen solution for MTG’s Viasat satellite premium and third party network subscribers. Viaplay is available in all four Nordic countries, Russia and Ukraine.

Rikard Steiber, MTG EVP and Chief Digital Officer, commented: “Viaplay is our number one digital priority. It has shown tremendous growth as the pioneer in the subscription video on demand space with an unrivalled content offering of great movies, series, kids’ shows and sports. MTGx is our digital accelerator, so combining the powers of these two businesses will enable MTG to step up our combined digital development and explore new opportunities across all of our free and paid digital platforms. We have a fantastic team, unique content offering and a versatile platform on which to expand in both our existing and new markets. The future for us is all about creating engaging experiences that connect our viewers and users with the entertainment they love the most – on all screens, anywhere and at any time.”

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG President and CEO, commented: “The opportunities here are tremendous as we generate more and more online traffic, see video drive internet usage and social media activity, advertisers commit more media spend online, and consumers opt for mobile, on demand and paid for video solutions. Our objective is clear – to be the leading digital video entertainer in each of our markets.”

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