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MTG acquires 50% of Russian DTH satellite pay-TV platform
MUMBAI: Modern Times Group (MTG), the international entertainment broadcasting group, has acquired 50 per cent of Raduga from Continental Media S.A. for an undisclosed consideration in cash.
Raduga is the sole owner of LCC DaoGeoCom, which operates Russian nationwide DTH satellite pay-TV platform Raduga TV.
Raduga TV was launched in February 2009 and had 70,000 active subscribers, as on 31 December 2009. The platform offers a package of more than 50 TV channels, including a wide range of Russian channels, as well as the localised versions of leading international channel brands such as Discovery Channel Russia, Eurosport Russia, National Geographic and Jetix.
The package also includes Viasat Broadcasting’s Viasat History, Viasat Explorer, TV1000 Russian Kino, TV1000 East and TV1000 Action East channels. Russian networks CTC, Domashny and DTV, which are operated by CTC Media, are also available on a free-to-air basis on the platform together with a number of other Russian free-TV channels. MTG owns 39.4 per cent of CTC Media, Inc.
The Raduga TV channel package is priced at approximately $10 per month on a three or six month pre-paid contract basis. The channels are encrypted with the Irdeto conditional access system and made available through the Asian Broadcasting Satellite ABS-1 (75° East) Northern Beam, which covers more than 90 per cent of the Russian Federation and is managed by Russian satellite operator GeoTelecommunicatons (GT). Subscriptions can be purchased from retailers across Russia.
The remaining 50 per cent interest in Raduga has been retained by Continental Media. The two owners will share management control of Raduga, which will be proportionately consolidated by MTG and reported in the Group’s ‘Pay-TV Emerging Markets’ business segment within the Viasat Broadcasting business area.
Viasat Broadcasting will now provide DTH satellite TV services in nine countries – Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia – and distribute its Viasat branded channels via third party operators in 25 countries across Central and Eastern Europe and in the US. The nine platforms have over one million subscribers. The pay-TV channels had attracted over 39 million subscriptions.
MTG president and CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht says, “We are delighted to have forged this strong partnership to develop a competitive pay-TV distribution platform in Europe’s largest market by number of TV households. Our Viasat channels are already well known by subscribers across Russia. We are an integrated TV broadcaster, operating free and pay-TV businesses across multiple markets, and Russia is one of the most attractive pay-TV markets in the world
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
