MOSCOW, Feb. 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CTC Media, Inc. ("CTC Media" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CTCM), Russia's leading independent media company, has announced the conclusion of an agreement with GlobeCast envisaging the provision of uplink services to the HOT BIRD™ 8 satellite and the subsequent broadcasting of the international version of CTC ("CTC-International"). HOT BIRD™ 8 currently covers the countries both in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as a number of countries in North Africa, in the Middle East and Central Asia.
CTC-International can now be received on the cable networks of any country in the HOT BIRD™ 8 satellite coverage area. Furthermore, the channel will also be available to all viewers with satellite dishes capable of receiving the signal.
Altogether, the channel will be available to cable and satellite TV subscribers in more than 120 million households, or around 65% of all the households in the satellite's coverage area.
Boris Podolsky, CTC Media's acting Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer: "We are pleased with the success of CTC-International, which is actively growing and developing. The channel's expansion is both the result of signing agreements with new platforms and entering new broadcasting territories, as well as expanding our circle of partners in those areas where CTC-International is already present. This deal will allow Russian speakers in Europe, which is an important area of development for us, to watch some of the holding's best TV shows in excellent quality."
Marat Devlet-Kildeyev, CTC Media's Head of International Broadcasting: "This is a very important step for us as it creates many opportunities for the further development and promotion of the international version of CTC. Russian-speaking audiences living in Europe, in the Middle East and Central Asia can now enjoy an excellent selection of our TV shows, sitcoms, documentaries and a wide range of other genres and formats. Broadcasting on HOT BIRD has allowed CTC-International to enter the cable and satellite TV markets of the countries covered by the satellite. Due to this CTC-International has already entered the Kazakh market, perfectly complementing the content of our free-to-air Channel 31. I have no doubt that CTC-International will soon gather the loyal viewers because all the programs have been accepted and are loved by Russian viewers and are an example of content of the highest quality."
Philippe Fort, Chief Operating Officer of GlobeCast said, "We are pleased to help CTC-International in its mission to bring quality programming to Russian-speaking audiences around the world. GlobeCast's presence in Russia, broadcast experience – and worldwide facilities and network – combined to make us ideally positioned for this crucial role."
About CTC Media, Inc.
CTC Media is a leading independent media company in Russia, with operations throughout Russia and elsewhere in the CIS. It operates three free-to-air television networks in Russia - CTC, Domashny and DTV (operating under the Peretz brand since October 2011) - as well as Channel 31 in Kazakhstan and a TV company in Moldova, with a combined potential audience of over 150 million people. The international pay-TV version of the CTC channel is available in the Baltic states, Germany, Israel and North America. CTC Media also has its own TV content production capabilities through its subsidiary Story First Production. The Company's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "CTCM". For more information on CTC Media, please visit www.ctcmedia.ru.
The CTC Media, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=9587
About GlobeCast
A subsidiary of France Telecom is a leading global provider of content management and worldwide transmission services for professional broadcast delivery. The company operates a secure global satellite and fiber network to manage and transport 10 million hours of video and other rich media each year. Top-tier broadcasters and content providers of all sizes turn to GlobeCast for ingest, aggregation, transmission and repurposing of content for delivery to direct-to-home satellite platforms; cable, IPTV, mobile and broadband headends, as well as corporate and digital signage networks. GlobeCast's fleet of SNG trucks deploys globally to support coverage of the biggest news and sporting events each year in SD and HDTV formats. Borders are non-existent when it comes to GlobeCast's services, thanks to the company's 12 teleports and technical operations centres as well as its 17 offices in Europe, North and Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia.
For further information, please visit www.ctcmedia.ru