RUSSIA “U Makes Friends With MTV: Former Competitors Agree On Partnership” RBC Daily 24 June 2013 This is a positive article about the acquisition of Russia’s U channel used to broadcast MTV under VIMN. U Makes Friends With MTV: Former Competitors Agree On Partnership – RBC http://www.rbcdaily.ru/media/562949987517132 Now the female viewers of the TV channel U (formerly Muz-TV) will be able to watch 100 hours of broadcast content provided by MTV (owned by Viacom). The 2-year partnership deal was struck by Elena Balmont, head of Viacom’s Russian office, and Ruben Oganesyan, general director of U. The projects acquired include documentaries and series not previously shown on Russian MTV. MTV went off the air on June 1 and was replaced on the frequency by Pyatnitsa. The brand owner Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) received a number of proposals from terrestrial TV channels about partnership and the provision of MTV-produced content and programs. According to Elena Balmont, general director of the Russian office of VIMN, the TV channel’s content was licenses by Profmedia and not available for other channels. “We simply didn’t have the right to sell MTV programs and shows,” she said. The role of partner was bestowed on an old Russian MTV competitor, the former Muz-TV, which now broadcasts as U, an entertainment channel for young women. “We chose this channel because our audiences overlap well. The young girls that watch U are undoubtedly part of MTV’s audience,” Balmont explained. The new MTV will take to the airwaves in October this year. Ruben Oganesyan, general director of U, thinks MTV programs will be interesting for the channel’s target audience of females aged 11 – 34. “MTV makes a quality product that’s interesting for girls and is attractive in terms of the concept behind our channel,” Oganesyan said. A branded MTV block will air on U this week. The first program viewers will see is True Life, a social project that used to go out on the old MTV. “On U, you’ll see new reality documentary premieres. The project will start on June 25,” Oganesyan said.
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