MTG cuts Disney deal

Modern Times Group (MTG) has extended its content licensing agreement with Disney for first-run and library move rights in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

The deal brings exclusive first-run rights to movies including Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Disney’s Wreck-it-Ralph, Disney/Pixar’s Brave and Monsters University to MTG.

The agreement also includes exclusive linear rights to a variety of back-catalogue titles including Cabaret, Evita and Runaway Bride.

The movies will air on MTG’s six Viasat Film thematic premium pay-TV channels in the Nordic region, which are available on the Viasat satellite pay-TV platform, as well as third-party IPTV and cable networks.

MTG has also secured subscription VoD rights to first-run and library titles for its Viaplay online service, which already includes a range of ABC Studios series.

MTG also has a multi-year agreement in place to show Disney first-run movies and series, as well as classic Disney animation titles and library feature movies on the group’s free-TV channels in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Under the terms of its latest deal, MTG has also extended its existing carriage agreement to include Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD on the Viasat platforms in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

“Disney is one of the world’s leading entertainment brands and continues to release a number of the highest grossing box office titles every year,” said Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, president and CEO of MTG. “They also have a large back catalogue of some of the most loved movies from recent years. It is therefore fantastic that we have now extended our ability to bring these magical entertainment experiences to our Viasat and Viaplay subscribers and free-TV viewers across multiple countries. We have enjoyed a long and successful partnership with Disney and look forward to continuing this for years to come.”