Timeline
1987
- TV3 launches in Sweden on New Year’s Eve becoming the first commercial channel in Scandinavia.
1988
- TV3 starts broadcasting to Norway and Denmark. The number of viewers increase from 1.2 million at launch to 3.4 million at end of 1988.
- Strix launches independent TV production.
1989
- August: Pay TV channel TV1000 launches.
- TV Shop starts selling 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).
- September: TV3 Denmark launches, replacing the Pan-Scandinavian version.
1991
- TV3 reports annual profit.
- TV3 Norway launches, each Scandinavian country now has its own version of TV3.
- TV4 granted license as Sweden’s third terrestrial TV station. Kinnevik acquires 30% shareholding in TV4.
- Launch of Viasat DTH satellite pay-TV platform.
- TV1000 merges with competitor SF Succé.
1992
- ZTV's first year as independent channel.
- Kinnevik’s media companies report annual profit.
1993
- September: P4 Radio Hele Norge a national commercial radio network in Norway is launched. MTG is one of its founders.
- 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.
- January: Radio Rix radio network formed through a merger between MTG's P6 and SRU.
- April: ZTV and TV6 merged to form 3+ in Denmark.
1997
- Launch of Viasat+, an analogue low-pay satellite package broadcast from the NSAB satellite consisting of MTG's own television channels as well as Nickelodeon, VH1 and Sci-Fi Channel.
- 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
- February: Metro launches in Gothenburg.
- March: TV6 in Sweden relaunches as a Pan-Nordic pay channel called "TV6 Nature World" and "TV6 Action World".
- ZTV moves from Stockholm to London and expands its schedule considerably.
- MTG acquires the Latvian television channel Channel 31, which is later transformed into TV3 Latvia.
- Viasat’s satellite TV subscribers exceed 1 million.
- Commercial radio operations launched in Estonia and Latvia.
- September: Metro launches in 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.
- February: Launch of CDON.COM.
- March: Launch of sports channel Viasat Sport.
2000
- March: Launch of television channel Viasat Plus in Norway.
- Annual General Meeting approves distribution of Metro International S.A. share capital to MTG shareholders.
- Hans-Holger Albrecht appointed President and CEO of MTG.
- MTG buys the Hungarian television channel Alfa TV which becomes Viasat3.
- PIN24 launches on Sky TV’s platform in UK.
- MTG buys the rest of TV1000 from its parent company.
- Viasat launched its digital satellite platform.
2001
- May: 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
- January: Viasat Sport Denmark and Viasat Explorer launches.
- January: Acquisition of 37 percent of StoryFirst Communications, Inc., owner of the Russian CTC network.
- January: Acquisition of Swedish radio stations Lugna Favoriter and WOW 105.5 from RTL Group.
- New TV3 schedule recovers share of viewing in Scandinavia.
- Doubling of Eastern European TV revenues.
- Launch of PIN24 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
- Launch 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 East and Viasat Explorer in Eastern and Central Europe.
2004
- MTG reports highest ever operating result.
- Ferbruary: Launch of Viast Sport 2 and Viasat Sport 3
- May: Viasat History launches in Eastern Europe.
- September: Launch of TV1000 Action, TV1000 Classic, TV1000 Family and TV1000 Nordic.
- 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%.
2005
- January: MTG sells its 15,1 percent interest in TV4 AB.
- March: CTC Media launches the Domashny television network in Russia.
- October: Launch of Russian language movie channel TV1000 Russian Kino.
- October: SportN launches in Norway.
- November: TV1000 Balkan launches.
2006
- March: MTG became majority shareholder of Bet24, owning 90% of the company.
- May: TV6 launches in Sweden.
- September: MTG increases its holding P4 Radio Hele Norge to 90.8 percent, becoming the sole owner in December.
- November: Viasat Sport East launches.
2007
- January: Viasat Golf launches in the Nordic countries.
- March: MTG buys the Balkan Media Group Limited Bulgarian channels: Diema, Diema 2, Diema Family, Diema Extra, MM and M2
- April: TV6 launches in Latvia.
- May: M2 in Bulgaria is closed down.
- September: Viasat 4 launches, replacing ZTV in Norway.
2008
- January: Viasat launches high-definition television in the Nordic countries.
- March: TV6 launches in Estonia.
- April: MTG sells Russian network DTV to CTC Media.
- April: TV1000 Premium launches in the Baltics.
- July: MTG buys Nova Television and Nova+ from Antenna Group.
- September: Tango TV relaunches as TV6 Lithuania.
- December: Viasat 1 launches in Ghana.
- December: Nova+ in Bulgaria is closed down.
2009
- January: Viasat Sport Baltic launches.
- February: TV1000 Drama launches.
- March: TV3 Puls launches in Denmark.
- The Diema Media Group and MM, previously a joint-venture between MTG and Apace Media, are merged whit Nova Television to create the Nova Broadcasting Group.
- April: Prima Cool launches in the Czech Republic.
2010
- April: Nova Sport launches in Bulgaria, replacing MM.
- September: TV10 launches in Sweden.
- December: Modern African Productions was founded in Ghana.
2011
- March: Prima love launches in the Czech Republic.
- August: M.A.P. launches her first production in Ghana.
- September: Kino Nova launches in Bulgaria, replacing Diema 2.
- October: TV8 opened in Lithuania.
- November: CTC opened in Baltic.
2012
- January: MTG reaches an agreement on acquiring Latvian channels LNT, TV5 and Kanāls 2.
- February: In Slovenia closed down TV3.
- March: All TV 1000 channels in Nordic countries renamed as Viasat Film.
- April: Nova Premier League HD launches in Bulgaria.
- June: Viasat Motor launches in Baltic.
- July: Jorgen Madsen appointed President and CEO of MTG.
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