Modern Times Group has announced that its channels will be available to viewers in Turkey for the first time from the beginning of 2014.
MTG’s factual pay-TV channels (Viasat History HD, Viasat Nature HD, Viasat Explorer) will be launched on January 1, 2014 following the signing of a multi-year distribution agreement with Türksat Satellite Communication and Cable TV Operation.
The channels will be shown with Turkish voice-over on Türksat’s digital cable TV service Teledünya, as part of Teledünya’s premium tier package. The channel programming will also be available on the platform’s catch-up TV services.
Irina Gofman, EVP/CEO of Russia & CIS and Pay-TV Emerging Markets, commented: “Turkey sits at the cross roads of Europe and Asia, is the world’s 17th largest economy and has a population of more than 80 million people. TV and video consumption are also growing rapidly in the country and we will bring Turkish viewers a rich and varied range of factual TV entertainment experiences. We look forward to building a long and successful partnership with Türksat.”
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, president and CEO of MTG, commented: “Making our products available to more and more customers is what MTG is all about. That is why we have rapidly expanded our channel footprint across 37 markets, and now is the right time for us to take a first step into this exciting 38th market with our partner Türksat.”
Fatih ?im?ek, Türksat Marketing, sales and content director, commented: “We are very excited to be the cable operator that launches Viasat History HD, Viasat Nature HD and Viasat Explorer in Turkey. There is great interest in history themed channels and a high level of customer demand for such content. Viasat History HD will certainly fill this gap and we are confident that our customers will enjoy watching the channel. Viasat Nature HD and Viasat Explorer will also complement the existing channel offering on our platform.”