Modern Times Group (MTG) is a Swedish media company. MTG was formed out of the media holdings of investment company Kinnevik, which in 1997 was distributed to the company stockholders. Among the assets were Viasat and Metro International. Viasat, a group of television channels, included TV3, the first commercial television channel in Sweden that had been started in 1987, TV6, ZTV, Viasat Sport and TV1000. The shares of Metro International, which runs a chain of free newspapers was distributed in a second round among the shareholders of MTG. Image File history File links MTG.gif‎ This is a logo of an organization, item, or event, and is protected by copyright and/or trademark. ... Investment AB Kinnevik was established in 1936 as an investment company. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Viasat is a DBS distributor and TV broadcaster, owned by the Swedish media conglomerate Modern Times Group. ... For other newspapers with the same name, see Metro (newspaper). ... TV3 is the largest commercial television channel of Viasat, which is part of the Swedish media company Modern Times Group. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Not to be confused with Zee TV. ZTV is a commercial television channel broadcast by Viasat in Sweden, Norway and Finland. ... Viasat Sport is the common brand of several sports channels targeting the Nordic countries owned by Modern Times Group. ... TV1000 is a set of cable movie channels, broadcasted in the Scandinavian countries, and owned by MTG (Modern Times Group). ...

Currently, MTG is also the owner of Rix FM, Lugna favoriter, CDON.com and Bet24.com. It is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange under the symbols MTGA and MTGB. The Stockholm Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Stockholm, Sweden. ...

See also: List of Swedish companies, Media in Sweden This is a list of Swedish companies: Companies A&E design Asea Brown Boveri (Swedish-Swiss) Alfa Laval Akzo Nobel (Swedish-Dutch) Arla Foods (Swedish-Danish) Arla Plast Autoliv Assa Abloy AstraZeneca (Swedish-British) Atlas Copco Avanza Axel Johnson Group Axel Johnson AB Axfood Biacore Boliden Bonniers BRIO Bure Equity... // The Swedish Press is self-regulated through the Public Press Ombudsman, or Allmänhetens Pressombudsman and the Swedish Press Council, or Pressens Opinionsnämnd. ...

• 1987 TV3 launched in Sweden on New Year’s Eve as Scandinavia’s first commercial TV channel.

• 1988 Number of TV3 viewers increases from 1.2 million at launch to 3.4 million at end of 1988. TV3 broadcast to Denmark and Norway. Strix launches independent TV production.

• 1989 Pay-TV channel TV1000 launched and TV-Shop sells products and services on TV3.

• 1990 TV3 achieves 45% penetration in Sweden and commands 90% of TV advertising market. Acquisition of majority shareholding in Svensk Text (SDI Media).

• 1991 TV3 reports annual profit. TV4 granted license as Sweden’s third terrestrial TV station. Kinnevik acquires 30% shareholding in TV4. Launch of Viasat DTH satellite pay-TV platform.

• 1992 ZTV’s first year as independent channel. Kinnevik’s media companies report annual profit.

• 1993 P4 Radio Hele Norge receives national commercial radio broadcasting license in Norway. First commercial radio licenses obtained in Sweden. TV3 commences Teletext broadcasting. Terrestrial TV channels launched in Estonia and Lithuania.

• 1994 TV4 becomes largest channel in Sweden. TV6 launched.

• 1995 MTG incorporated as Kinnevik subsidiary. Metro launched in Stockholm. Minority holding acquired in Finanstidningen daily business newspaper.

• 1996 Satellite TV distribution platform switched from Astra to NSAB. RIX FM radio network formed through mergers. ZTV and TV6 merged to form 3+ in Denmark.

• 1997 Shares in MTG distributed to Kinnevik shareholders and listed on Stockholm Börsinformation and Nasdaq National Market in New York. Second Metro edition published in Prague. Strix becomes first company in the world to produce the Survivor reality TV format.

• 1998 TV3 acquires TV channel in Latvia. Viasat’s satellite TV subscribers exceed 1 million. Commercial radio operations launched in Estonia and Latvia. Metro launches editions in Gothenburg and Budapest.

• 1999 Metro launched in Malmö, Helsinki and the Netherlands. Monthly magazine Kapital launched in Sweden. Internet portal Everyday.com introduced. Swedish business channel TV8 acquired. MTG’s shares quoted on Stockholmsbörsen O-list.

• 2000 Annual General Meeting approves distribution of Metro International S.A. share capital to MTG shareholders. Hans-Holger Albrecht appointed President and CEO of MTG. Viasat3 begins broadcasting in Hungary. PIN24 launches on Sky TV’s platform in UK.

• 2001 Viasat becomes first European satellite TV broadcaster to switch off analog transmission of premium pay-TV channels following successful transition to digital TV. TV3 awarded national terrestrial broadcasting license in Latvia. Digital home-shopping channel PIN24 launched in Denmark. MTG acquires 75% of Russian national commercial TV channel. Options to Strix reality TV formats sold in over 30 countries to date. Viasat launches four new digital pay-TV channels in Nordic region. EUR 120 million convertible subordinated bonds issued to fund further expansion. Number of Viasat digital DTH subscribers increases to over 550,000 by year-end.

• 2002 Acquisition of 37% of StoryFirst Communications, Inc. and of Lugna Favoriter and WOW 105.5 Swedish radio stations. New TV3 schedule recovers share of viewing in Scandinavia. Doubling of Eastern European TV revenues. Launch of PIN24 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and of Tango TV in Lithuania. Increase in number of digital DTH subscribers to 617,000 and more than doubling of pay-TV operating income. TV1000 and Baltic operations both report first annual profits, and TV-Shop turned around. SEK 423 million increase in operating free cash flow.

• 2003 TV3 Scandinavia recovers share of viewing and advertisement sales. Eastern European operations profitable on a combined basis. Pay-TV record operating income SEK 505 million. Viasat signs agreement with NDS VideoGuard to eliminate piracy. Launch of Pay-TV-channels TV 1000 and Viasat Explorer in Eastern and Central Europe.

• 2004 MTG reports highest ever operating result. Viasat launches two new dedicated sports channels, four new thematic movie channels and a new documentary channel. Viasat successfully completes implementation of new conditional access system. Highest net subscriber intake since digitalisation of platform in 2000. Viasat’s four channels reach 6.4 million homes in Central and Eastern Europe. MTG acquires remaining minority interests in DTV and increases its shareholding in CTC Media and Radio Hele Norge following sale of SDI Media for US$ 60 million. MTG acquires 19.9% of betting company BET24. MTG also signs agreement with NRJ Group to assume management of 20 radio stations in Sweden (and 5 in Norway), thereby increasing penetration for MTG’s national network to 83%.

External links

• Modern Times Group - Official site