CTC-International expands footprint

Russian broadcaster CTC Media is to launch the international version of the CTC channel in Thailand as part of the next phase of its international expansion, targeting popular Russian tourist destinations. The Thai launch will be followed by launches in Turkey, the UAE and other countries shortly, according to Marat Devlet-Kildeyev, CTC Media’s head of international broadcasting.

Under its Thai deal with Thai Media Export Co Ltd, CTC-International will be included as part of the four major cable networks in the resort island of Phuket, which cover around 90% of the households and hotels in the region. The channel is already available on one of the networks and will be launched on the remaining three in the autumn.

According to CTC Media, the potential audience size of the region amounts to more than 550,000 Russian-speaking viewers annually, most of whom are tourists.

CTC-International is already available in the US, Israel, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure that our Russian compatriots have access to high quality and entertaining CTC content around the world,” said Devlet-Kildeyev.

Separately, CTC Media’s Domashny and Peretz channels in Russia are now available on LG Smart TVs via dedicated widgets, with content supplied from CTC’s Videomore portal. The service is automatically available for all owners of LG Smart TVs produced from 2011 onwards.

“We see a lot of potential in the smart TV sector and our joint project with LG is part of our strategy to increase the CTC Media audience reach in new media. The launch of the CTC channel widget on LG Smart TVs has proved that our content is very popular among viewers,” said Anna-Maria Treneva, CTC Media’s head of new media. “One third of all LG Smart TV owners use the CTC widget. According to usage statistics, the CTC channel widget was ranked first among TV widgets, and was also among the top five widgets for LG Smart TVs. The introduction of the Domashny and Peretz widgets has helped us broaden our audience coverage and offer viewers more choice.”