OSLO, Norway, June 28, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- In a lawsuit brought by MTV Networks Europe, the district court in Asker and Baerum has ruled in favour of the defendant, Canal Digital Kabel TV. The TV channel MTV will not be part of Canal Digital Kabel TV's Basic Tier after 1 July.
MTV Networks Europe, which is the owner of the TV channel MTV, filed a lawsuit with the district court in Asker and Baerum, seeking an interlocutory injunction to prohibit Canal Digital Kabel TV from removing MTV from its Basic Tier. The court has ruled that the agreement between MTV and Canal Digital Kabel TV will be terminated at the launch of the new channel selection on 1 July. "The lawsuit has been settled in favour of the defendant (Canal Digital)," the ruling said.
"We are of course pleased that the court ruled that the mandatory channel selection may be undertaken based on market surveys, and that we, regardless of the selection process, must take into account such factors as content, range and price when we compose the Basic Tier," said Svein Erik Davidsen, CEO of Canal Digital Kabel TV.
"The wording of the Norwegian broadcasting law and regulations does not prohibit anyone from gathering information regarding subscriber preferences through market surveys. Furthermore, it is also clear that MTV, as a broadcaster, does not have right of appeal to the Norwegian Media Authority," the ruling said.
Canal Digital Kabel TV has been awarded legal costs.
The new Basic Tier that will be launched on 1 July is the result of a number of initiatives that together make up the channel selection. Last autumn, several surveys were conducted to chart the popularity of the various categories and TV channels. This year new channels have been broadcast and tested. Based on customer response from different market surveys, Canal Digital Kabel TV has drawn up a recommended Basic Tier, which was tested in a comprehensive study conducted by MMI Univero. 77 per cent of the participants in this survey said they were satisfied with the recommended Basic Tier, which contains five new channels: Disney Channel, BBC World, Showtime, Star! and the Voice.
For more information please contact: Head of Information Ingrid Schiefloe, Tel: +47 951 56 977
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