VIASAT ENCRYPTS DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL BROADCASTING OF CHANNELS AND OFFERS FREE PAY-TV INSTALLATION Modern Times Group MTG AB, the international media group, today announced that it will encrypt the broadcasting of its television channels in the digital terrestrial network ('DTT') in Sweden with immediate effect. Viewers will continue to be able to watch TV3, ZTV and TV8 without paying a subscription fee but they will need to acquire a card from Boxer, which operates the DTT pay-TV service. Existing Boxer pay-TV customers will not be affected by the encryption of the signal. The encryption has been necessitated by a rival operator's move to offer Viasat's TV3, ZTV and TV8 channels in its own package by including Viasat's unencrypted signal, without seeking or reaching an agreement with Viasat. Subscribers to the rival operator's platform will therefore now not be able to watch Viasat's market leading entertainment channels. Viewers with a DTT set-top box receiver with no card slot will be offered the opportunity to subscribe to Viasat's pay-TV services in the most simple and inexpensive way ever. Viasat is now offering a free dish, a free digital decoder and free installation for all new subscribers signing up to Viasat's premium pay-TV package - 'Viasat Gold'. Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: "Our new offer to television viewers is the most competitive yet - free set-up when signing up for Viasat's unrivalled premium pay-TV portfolio of sports, movies and the best in own-produced and acquired entertainment from leading programme makers in Scandinavia and around the world. "We have been forced to encrypt our DTT signal but have done so in such a way that those viewers who watch our channels on digital terrestrial television can continue to do so without paying a monthly subscription fee". For further information, please visit www.mtg.se, email info@mtg.se, or contact: Hans-Holger Albrecht, President & CEO tel: +46 (0) 8 562 000 50 Matthew Hooper, Investor & Press Enquiries tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5010 MTG is an international media group with operations in more than 30 countries around the world and principal broadcasting businesses in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Hungary and Russia. MTG is the largest Free-to-air and Pay-TV operator in the Nordic and Baltic regions and the largest commercial radio operator in Northern Europe. MTG's Viasat channels reach over 50 million people in 15 countries every day and MTG Radio's stations reach 3 million daily listeners. The Viasat Broadcasting DTH satellite TV platform offers digital multi-channel TV packages of over 50 own-produced and third party entertainment channels. MTG is a leading European direct response TV network operator, broadcasting home shopping channels into 100 million homes in 52 countries, as well as one of the world's leading originators and producers of Reality TV formats. Modern Times Group MTG AB class A and B shares are listed on the Stockholmsbörsen O-list (symbols: MTGA and MTGB). ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/09/01/20040901BIT20090/wkr0010.pdf