Viaplay & MTGx join forces to create leading digital entertainer

Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) (‘MTG’ or ‘the Group’), the international
entertainment group, today announced that its Viaplay online pay-TV business and
MTGx digital accelerator will merge to create a leading digital entertainment
powerhouse under the leadership of Rikard Steiber, MTG Executive Vice President
and Chief Digital Officer. The merger is the natural next step in MTG’s
accelerating digital development and will facilitate an even closer integration
of the Group’s digital initiatives and drive to create and expand innovative and
scalable user experiences.
Viaplay, which was launched in 2011, is MTG’s largest digital business and
offers a unique and extensive choice of box office hit movies, the best TV
series and live sports events from around the world. Viaplay has just benefitted
from MTG’s exclusive coverage in Sweden of the Sochi Winter Olympic games and
delivered the most digital Olympics coverage ever with record streaming figures.
Viaplay’s extensive on demand content offering is available on a standalone
basis to subscribers through a wide range of internet connected devices
including tablets, personal computers, smart TV’s, set-top boxes and games
consoles, 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.

MTGx was launched in June 2013 as a new Group-wide initiative to accelerate the
pace of MTG’s digital innovation and expansion. MTGx is the enabling hub for the
Group’s digital planning and execution, and this centralised digital expertise
and development capability has already accelerated MTG’s digital evolution
across its markets. MTGx has re-launched the Group’s advertising funded catch-up
TV platforms across 8 markets, invested in a leading YouTube multi-channel
network on YouTube, created specific web and mobile content, and developed a
wide range of digital services including a new visual radio app, new sport app
and a state of the art eSports broadcasting studio.

Niclas Ekdahl, the current CEO of Viaplay, is leaving MTG to pursue new
opportunities.

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. Our priority is simple – to provide exciting, relevant and easy to
access products. MTGx was established to drive and accelerate our digital
development and Viaplay is our number one game changer, so now is the right time
to maximise the combined potential of our technology, talent and content under
Rikard’s leadership.”

“I would also like to thank Niclas for his hard work and invaluable contribution
to the establishment and expansion of Viaplay, and we wish him well for the
future.”

For the purpose of continuity and consistency, Viaplay’s results will continue
to be reported in MTG’s financial results as a part of the Nordic pay-TV and
Emerging Markets Pay-TV businesses, and MTGx’s results will continue to be
reported as before.

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For further information, please visit www.mtg.se or contact:

Investors & Analysts
Tel:                      + 46 (0) 73 699 2714
Email:                  investor.relations@mtg.se

Journalists
Tel:                      + 46 (0) 73 699 2709
Email:                  press@mtg.se
Modern Times Group (MTG) is an international entertainment group with operations
that span four continents and include free-TV, pay-TV, radio and content
production businesses. MTG’s Viasat Broadcasting operates free-TV and pay-TV
channels, which are available on Viasat’s own satellite platforms and third
party networks, and also distributes TV content over the internet. MTG is also
the largest shareholder in CTC Media, which is Russia’s leading independent
television broadcaster.

Modern Times Group is a growth company and generated net sales of SEK 14.1
billion in 2013. 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 10.05 CET on 27
March 2014.