Modern Times Group (MTG) has effectively checked out of Central and Eastern Europe following the sale of the Bulgarian broadcaster Nova.
Few would have believed such a scenario was possible only five years ago, when the Swedish company was riding high in the region with a presence in no fewer than eight markets. The most important of these was arguably Russia, where is interests included a majority stake in the national commercial broadcaster CTC Media and joint ownership of the DTH platform Raduga TV.
It was also Russia where things started to change, setting in motion a process that reached its conclusion a few days ago with the sale of Nova to Petr Kellner’s PPF Group. In Russia, MTG found itself under pressure following the enactment of legislation capping the permitted level of foreign ownership in media companies to 20%. It looked hard for a solution, but eventually decided to pull the plug.
Elsewhere, in what was a surprise move, MTG sold its free TV channels and Viaplay catch-up service in Hungary to Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Network in early 2015. Later in the year, it disposed of both its Russian and international pay-TV businesses, with the former being bought by the Russian company LLC Sinerdzhi.
At around the same time as it was finalising the sale of its stake in CTC Media in early 2016, MTG also disposed of the DTH platform Viasat Ukraine, most probably for commercial reasons in what was a challenging market.
Other assets soon followed, with Providence Equity Partners snapping up MTG’s Baltic broadcasting business and Denemo Media its 50% stake in the Czech Republic’s FTV Prima in early 2017. Now Bulgaria’s Nova has joined the list.
While this has undoubtedly been a retreat from the CEE region, it has come alongside a major transformation at MTG, which now defines itself as a global digital entertainer. Rather than look back on what it once owned in CEE, the company has moved into such exciting new areas as esports, digital video networks and online gaming, while at the same time retaining its broadcasting interests in the Nordics, and for that it should be commended.
