Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has announced the signing of a new deal with satellite platform Digiturk that will see six of its channels air across the Turkish market for the next six years.
Digiturk, which serves the majority of Turkish pay-TV subscribers, will commence broadcasting MTV and MTV Live HD on March 1. This will be the first time that MTV’s HD channel has been made available in the Turkish market. The MTV flagship channel will be broadcast with localised Turkish language subtitles.
As part of the deal Nickelodeon will be broadcast exclusively on Digiturk, with the Nickelodeon flagship channel airing from March 1, and pre-school channel Nick Jr. and HD channel Nickelodeon HD scheduled to launch in the coming months. Digiturk will continue to exclusively air classic music channel VH1 in the region.
Digiturk will also become VIMN’s advertising sales partner as part of the new deal and will be responsible for local advertising deals for MTV and Nickelodeon in the market.
“We’re pleased to announce our new partnership with Digiturk for the distribution of our channels across Turkey,” said Antonio Campo Dall’Orto, EVP, VIMN South Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We look forward to partnering with them for years to come to deliver our world-famous entertainment brands to the Turkish market. We’re excited to be expanding our presence in the Turkey, where we see vast opportunities to grow and strengthen our youth and kids’ properties.”
Esra Özaral Altop, Digiturk’s head of content acquisition, said “As the country’s leading digital platform, we are very pleased to host both the MTV and Nickelodeon channels in Turkey. Our subscribers will enjoy the privilege of watching Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon HD and VH1 channels exclusively and the MTV channels within our entertainment offering, including for the first time the superior quality of MTV Live HD.:
“Our principal aim is to continually bring inspiring content to our subscribers, especially our younger viewers. We believe that quality is the key factor in accomplishing that goal. With this mission in mind, it is a great pleasure for us to continue our extensive partnership with VIMN, who operate the leading children’s and youth channels worldwide. We are looking forward to working together and believe that this partnership will be most beneficial for both of our companies in the Turkish market.”
