Akado adds MTV Russia to line-up

Russian service provider Akado has added MTV Russia to its programming line-up as part of its basic digital package.

The addition of the channel comes via an agreement between Akado, which operates the Komkor service in Moscow and St Petersburg, and Viacom International Media Networks.

The channel will be the 11^th Viacom service on the Akado platform, joining Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon HD, Nick Jr, Paramount Comedy, MTV Rocks, MTV Hits, MTV Dance, MTV Live, the European feed of VH1 and VH1 Classic.

Viacom relaunched MTV Russia, the dedicated Russian version of the MTV brand, in 2013 after reacquiring control of the licence after the expiration of an agreement with Russian media outfit Prof Media.

Prof Media owned and operated the MTV Russia franchise from 2007, but decided to replace it in 2012 amid falling ratings. Viacom reacquired the rights and relaunched the service from London.

Akado Group CEO Sergei Nazarov said he expected that the addition of MTV Russia would contribute to growing the operator’s subscriber base.

Features of the channel this year include Casa Musica, a show seeking to highlight young Russian artists, and an updated MTV Top 20 programme.

Separately, Russian satellite pay TV provider NTV+ has added Nickelodeon to its programming line-up.