[Satellite Today – 5-23-08] Modern Times Group (MTG) has struck a deal to have its pay-TV packages distributed via the IPTV network operated by leading Swedish telecommunications provider Telia, MTG announced May 23.
    The deal will enable MTG subsidiary Viasat Broadcasting to market and sell its pay-TV channel packages to Telia´s more than 300,000 IPTV customers and broadband subscribers beginning in June. Telia´s digital TV customers will have access to 17 Viasat free-TV and pay-TV channels in six different Viasat channel packages.
    MTG has seen its subscriber numbers fall in recent quarters, and CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht told Satellite Today in February that he believes that satellite pay-TV has peaked in terms of subscribers in the Nordic region.
    The deal is further evidence that satellite pay-TV operators are looking to partner with other distributors to increase their reach. “Telia has built a scale and successful pay-TV business in the IPTV environment, and we are delighted to be able to access and sell our services to this large and growing customer base, which is typically not addressed by our DTH satellite service,” Albrecht said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to working with Telia to develop our joint content offering and to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the rapidly evolving digital environment.”