VIASAT SETS NEW RECORD WITH 'PAY PER VIEW' BOXING Modern Times Group MTG AB, the international media group, today announced that Viasat Broadcasting has already sold 42,000 'pay per view' tickets for this weekend's boxing match in Denmark between former world heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson, and Danish veteran, Brian Nielsen. The event has been marketed to Viasat's digital TV subscribers in the Nordic region and has already broken the previous 'buy rate' record for a 'pay per view' event. The previous record was also set by Viasat, back in 1997, when Brian Nielsen fought another former world heavyweight champion, Larry Holmes, and 43,000 tickets were sold to Viasat channel subscribers. This weekend's fight is being promoted through all of MTG's various media - TV, Radio and newspapers. The event has already achieved a superior 'buy rate' (number of tickets sold out of subscriber base) to the 1997 fight, as it has only been marketed to Viasat's half a million digital subscribers and 3rd party cable subscribers, whereas the 1997 fight was marketed to all of Viasat's analogue cardholders and 3rd party cable subscribers . The next event has already been planned. Paolo Roberto will challenge world boxing champion Armand Krajnc on 3 November in Lübeck, Germany, for the WBO middleweight championship. This will be the first time that two Swedes have contested a world title and the match will only be available on Viasat. Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: "We are still three days away from the fight and always see a significant proportion of sales come through in the immediate build-up, so to have achieved this record already is great news. 'Pay per view' is a primary driver of our average revenure per subscriber, and builds on the success of our introduction of digital TV and the development of our interactive platform. Our position as the largest digital TV broadcaster in the Nordic region and owner of a wide range of media channels enables us to achieve high levels of take-up of these services. " Modern Times Group MTG AB Skeppsbron 18, Box 2094, SE-103 13 Stockholm, Sweden Tel. +46 8 562 000 50 Fax. +46 8 20 50 74 (Publ) Registration No. 556309- 9158 www.mtg.se 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 Relations tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5010 Modern Times Group MTG AB has seven business areas: Viasat Broadcasting (free-to-air and pay TV channels in nine countries), Radio (seven networks in five countries), New Media (the Everyday interactive TV portal, Internet portal, Mobile portal, and teletext services), Publishing (financial news and information services), Modern Interactive (home shopping, e-commerce, and logistics), SDI Media (subtitling and dubbing services), and Modern Studios (content production and library). Modern Times Group MTG AB's class A and B shares are listed on the Stockholmsbörsen O-list (symbols: MTGA and MTGB) and on the Nasdaq National Market in New York (symbol: MTGNY). Modern Times Group MTG AB Skeppsbron 18, Box 2094, SE-103 13 Stockholm, Sweden Tel. +46 8 562 000 50 Fax. +46 8 20 50 74 (Publ) Registration No. 556309- 9158 www.mtg.se ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/11/20011011BIT00900/bit0002.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/11/20011011BIT00900/bit0002.pdf