Annual Report 2003 - Modern Times Group MTG AB

TV3 strengthened
its position in the
Swedish TV market
during 2003
1. 2.
1. The 16 Grand Prix races that made up the 2003 Formula 1 Motor Racing
3.
World Championship were exclusively broadcast in Denmark on the
Viasat channels.
ever. Reality TV series ‘Fab 5’
and ‘Top Model’ were both
rating winners whilst the
new episodes of ‘Sex and the
City’ and ‘E.R.’ continued to
attract large audiences.
MTG applied for licenses to
broadcast in the digital terrestrial
network during the fall and was subsequently
awarded three licenses in January
2004 for TV3, ZTV and TV8. Viasat also aims to become an operator
within the digital terrestrial network. The inclusion of Viasat as an
additional operator would create enhanced choice for viewers in the
digital terrestrial TV environment.
TV3 significantly increased its ratings in all significant demographic
groups during 2003. In the target group of 15-44 year olds,
which is core for advertisers, this channel’s share of viewing increased
from 26.7% in 2002 to an average of 27.9% in 2003,
measured amongst the main commercial channels (TV3, TV4 and
Kanal 5) in the national universe.
ZTV Sweden
ZTV features entertainment and music programming targeting
15–34 year-olds. The channel achieved all-time high viewing levels
during the fall season and has continued to deliver higher viewing
shares in the target group aged 15-34 in the satellite universe. The
boost in viewing was made possible by increased focus on refining
the channel with programming unique to ZTV. The ambition is
to further refine the channel schedule and to deliver consistently
high ratings amongst its target audience. An agreement with cable
service provider Kabelvision enabled ZTV to gain access to
another 100,000 television households and increased
the channel’s penetration to 52%. ZTV’s commercial
share of viewing increased to 5.6% and ZTV more than
doubled the gap to trailing music channel ‘MTV’ on a
national basis.
ZTV became further differentiated during the fall by
airing more unique programmes with exclusive events like
the Hultsfred Festivalen and Sommarstad Gotland.
Swedish reality TV show ‘På Riktigt’ also achieved ratings
successes.
broadcasting
2. Hosts Hasse Aro and Leif GW Persson from the TV crime
series ‘Efterlyst’. The 27th season saw the best ratings ever.
TV3 and TV3+ Denmark
TV3 and sister channel TV3+ are the two most popular satellite and
cable TV channels in Denmark. Together they had a commercial
share of viewing rated 23% in the target audience of 15–50 year olds
in the national universe during 2003. TV3 reaches 1.7 million homes
in Denmark, equivalent to 70% of all Danish TV households.
TV3 increased its spending on own productions in the fall in
order to increase its commercial share of viewing. The fall schedule
included rating winners like ‘Robinson’, ‘Idols’ and ‘Par på
prøve’. The ‘Robinson’ format was extended to include a new
spin-off programme ‘Utopia’, which attracted a regular audience
of 310,000 viewers. ‘Idols’ was the most watched own production
ever in TV3’s history, with a 55% commercial
share of viewing among 15–34 year
olds. ‘Par på prøve’, which is the
Danish version of the ‘Wife Swap’
format, was the second most
watched own production ever
on TV3, with as many as 411,000
viewers tuning into the show.
The format will run for a second
season in the spring of 2004.
Sara Löfgren, one of the most successful
participants in Fame Factory, is well on
her way to fame. As with several
other participants, Sara’s songs
have made their way up the
charts and are frequently played
on radio stations in Sweden.
15