MUMBAI: Modern Times Group MTG AB announced that Viasat Broadcasting has signed an exclusive four year pan-Scandinavian distribution agreement with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution.
The deal is the first of its kind in Scandinavia as it covers the broadcasting of a range of blockbuster movies and hit TV series on Viasat’s Scandinavian free-TV channels, as well as the online and mobile rights to the Hollywood Studio’s content for the Viaplay multi-screen online video streaming service. The four year deal starts from 2012.
The agreement covers first run rights to recently released blockbuster Fox feature films including Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Black Swan, Never Let Me Go, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, Gulliver’s Travels and X-Men: First Class. The agreement also provides access to classic library titles including Titanic, Independence Day and Braveheart.
Viasat has also acquired all first run rights to Fox US network television TV series produced from the beginning of 2012.
Previous hit shows have included Buffy – The Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Ally McBeal, 24 and Prison Break. In addition, the agreement provides Viasat with the rights to library TV titles and US network TV movies and mini-series.
TV viewers in Scandinavia will be able to watch this broad and exciting selection of newly released and library movies and TV series on Viasat’s nine leading free-TV entertainment channels (TV3, TV3 HD, TV6, TV8, TV3+, TV3+ HD, Viasat4, TV3 Puls and TV10). The same selection will also be available via web-connected devices from Viaplay, which includes free-TV catch-up services (TV3 Play in Sweden and Norway, TV3 Gensyn in Denmark, TV6 Play and TV8 Play in Sweden, Viasat 4 Play in Norway, and TV3+ Gensyn and TV3 Puls Gensyn in Denmark), as well as pay-TV video-on-demand services.
MTG president and CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht said, “Fox has a fantastic track record of creating massively popular movies and TV series. This agreement not only further strengthens our linear programming schedule, but also enhances our ever-increasing offering of online streamed content. This is a groundbreaking deal for both Fox and MTG and we are proud to be the first to have structured such a deal in Scandinavia. Viasat is the home of entertainment and our objective is to provide viewers with the highest quality TV content on multiple distribution platforms.”
Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution president of international television Marion Edwards added, “Fox and Viasat are perfect partners in this important marketplace. Combining the popularity, reach and diverse services of Viasat with the power of the films and series of Fox will create a winning proposition for viewers.”
