MTG denies reports it is in talks to sell Russian pay TV stake

Modern Times Group (MTG) has denied reports it is in talks to sell its stake in beleaguered Russian DTH pay TV platform Raduga TV.

According to the ITAR-TASS news agency, MTG is in talks to sell its 50% stake in the operator to one of rival operators Tricolor TV or Orion Express.

However, a spokesman for MTG said the reports are not true. “We are fully committed to Raduga and we are in no discussions about selling the asset,” he said.

ITAR-TASS cited an unnamed source close to Tricolor TV as saying that MTG held meetings with the pair after regulator Roskomnadzor ruled that Raduga TV had failed to obtain the correct licence to broadcast in the Russian Federation.

The regulator this week reported the case to the country’s ministry of internal affairs, asking it to consider a criminal prosecution, despite the fact that Raduga TV’s holding company DalGeoKom had appealed against an earlier fine, with that appeal still pending.