MTG: VIASAT ACQUIRES NHL BROADCASTING RIGHTS FROM ESPN

MTG: VIASAT ACQUIRES NHL BROADCASTING RIGHTS FROM ESPN

Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) (‘MTG' or ‘the Group'), the international
entertainment broadcasting group, today announced that it has signed an
agreement to acquire the live broadcasting rights to the National Hockey League
(NHL)  in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. MTG's coverage of the NHL will
start in October 2009 with the beginning of the 2009-2010 season. The NHL's
rights are syndicated by sports media company, ESPN, in the Nordic region and
the rest of Europe. 

NHL games will be broadcast on Sweden's only dedicated ice hockey channel,
Viasat Hockey, a new Swedish TV channel, launching this September; on Viasat
Sport in Norway; and on Viasat channels in Finland and Denmark. The agreement
with ESPN and the NHL includes five exclusive NHL matches every week during the
regular season between October and April, news and highlights from all NHL
matches, and co-exclusive rights with ESPN America to all of the Stanley Cup
Playoff games between April and June. In addition to Viasat Hockey, NHL games
will also appear on other Viasat channels in Sweden. The agreement also provides
live online streaming rights to all NHL matches for Viasat OnDemand in
conjunction with ESPN360, ESPN's broadband service.  

The first matches of the 2009/10 NHL season, the NHL Premier Games, will be
played on  October 2nd & 3rd  in Stockholm at the Globe Arena and in Helsinki,
Finland at the Hartwall Arena. The 2009 NHL Premier Games in Stockholm, will see
2008 Stanley Cup Champions and 2009 runners-up Detroit Red Wings take on the St.
Louis Blues. These games will be broadcast on Viasat channel, TV6, in Sweden.
The NHL features the leading ice hockey players from all over the world,
including some 50 Swedish and 40 Finnish players, a number of whom play for both
the Red Wings and the Blues.

Viasat has already secured a wide range of exclusive ice hockey broadcasting
rights including the annual IIHF World Championship, the KHL, Sweden's
HockeyAllsvenskan league and the Norwegian Get league.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, President & CEO of MTG, commented: “The NHL is the premier
professional hockey league in the world and is extremely popular in the Nordic
countries. This acquisition reflects our commitment to provide the very best in
both local and international sports content to our viewers, and clearly
positions Viasat as the number one broadcaster of ice hockey, with an exciting
and diverse portfolio of on and off-line rights.”

***

For further information, please visit www.mtg.se or contact:

Hans-Holger Albrecht, President & CEO
Tel:       		+46 (0) 8 562 000 50
 
Investor & Analyst Enquiries:
Matthew Hooper: 	+44 (0) 7768 440 414
Email:   		investor.relations@mtg.se 
                                                                                
   
Media Enquiries:
Bert Willborg		+44 (0) 791 2280 850
Email:   		bert.willborg@mtg.se   	


Modern Times Group is a leading international entertainment broadcasting group
with the second largest geographical broadcast footprint in Europe. MTG's Viasat
Broadcasting is the largest free-TV and satellite premium pay-TV operator in
Scandinavia and the Baltics, and also operates free-TV channels in the Czech
Republic, Hungary, Slovenia Bulgaria, Macedonia and Ghana. MTG's TV assets are
broadcast in a total of 29 countries and reach over 100 million people. MTG is
also the major shareholder in Russia's largest independent television
broadcaster (CTC Media - Nasdaq: CTCM), and the number one commercial radio
operator in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

Modern Times Group MTG AB Class A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX
Stockholm's Large Cap market (‘MTGA' and ‘MTGB').


The information in this announcement is that which Modern Times Group MTG AB is
required to disclose under the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial
Instruments Trading Act. It was released for publication at 08.00 CET on 16 July
2009.


About ESPN

Based in Bristol, Conn, ESPN Inc is the world's leading multinational,
multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of 50 multimedia
sports assets. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc, which is an indirect
subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent
interest in ESPN.

ESPN International has grown to include ownership-in whole or in part- of over
45 television networks outside if the United States, as well as a variety if
brand extension businesses, which allow ESPN to reach fans in 200 countries and
territories. In the UK, ESPN now includes a portfolio of television and digital
brands including ESPN America, ESPN Classic, ESPNcricinfo.com, ESPNscrum.com,
ESPNsoccernet.com ESPN360.com and Racing-live.com.

ESPN America has the rights to show NFL, NHL, MLB and NCAA Football and
Basketball across Europe, available in 43 countries and ESPN Classic Sport now
has five networks (UK, France, Italian, pan-European and Middles Eastern feeds)
available in over 40 countries. ESPN360.com - the company's signature broadband
service - launched in Europe in January 2008.