MTS and Disney Sign Deal to Deliver Digital Content to Russia
By Mts Mobile Telesystems, PRNETuesday, April 6, 2010
MOSCOW, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, April 7, 2010 - Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS" - NYSE: MBT), the leading
telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, and The Walt Disney
Company CIS ("Disney") signed a deal to deliver Disney's movies and
television shows via the Internet in Russia. MTS will deliver Disney's
content to the Russian market through it proprietary content portal Omlet.ru,
allowing Russian consumers to access legal content from one of the
Hollywood's major studios.
As of today, Omlet.ru users can access around 100 Disney's
movies, including such hits as "Surrogates", "National Treasure", "The
Proposal", "G-Force", "Pirates of the Caribbean", the animated film "Up",
"Lost" television series and more. Under the terms of the agreement, the
Disney catalogue on Omlet.ru will be regularly updated, and new DVD releases
will be simultaneously available for download or streaming on the MTS content
portal. During 2010, MTS expects to deliver some of the most anticipated
Disney releases to Omlet.ru, including "Alice in Wonderland", "Toy Story 3"
and "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time".
Omlet.ru users can either download or steam new releases from
Disney, with the price for download ranging from 100 to 150 rubles and for
streaming from 60 to 75 rubles. Older hits from the Disney catalogue will
cost 75 rubles to download and 40 rubles to stream. Omlet.ru content is
available on PCs/laptops and mobile devices, allowing to download or stream
movies both at home and on-the-go.
"The development of innovative technologies and the growing
popularity of the Internet contribute to the increasing demand and
consumption of digital content. To that end, MTS is focused both on the
development of the necessary mobile and fixed infrastructure and on the
delivery of the wide selection of top-rate content to the market," noted
Mikhail Gerchuk, Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of MTS.
"Omlet.ru portal is the primary destination in Russia allowing all Internet
users to enjoy legal content from the leading studios. "
<<Disney aims to provide Russian Internet users with the most
comfortable access to its movies," noted Marina Zhigalov-Ozkan, head of the
Russian office of Disney. "We are very interested in the development of
digital distribution of legal Disney content in Russia."
Omlet.ru content portal was launched by MTS in the fall of
2009, offering a large selection of licensed movies, music and games for
mobile and computer users. There are about 550 movies and TV series available
on Omlet.ru today, and the catalogue is constantly updated with new releases
and classic hits.
Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS") is the leading telecommunications group
in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, offering mobile and fixed voice,
broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the
world's fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group
services over 102.3 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Belarus, a region that boasts a total
population of more than 230 million. Since June 2000, MTS' Level 3 ADRs have
been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional
information about the MTS Group can be found at www.mtsgsm.com.
Some of the information in this press release may contain
projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or
the future financial performance of MTS, as defined in the safe harbor
provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You
can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect," "believe,"
"anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may" or "might," and
the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. We wish to caution
you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or
results may differ materially. We do not undertake or intend to update these
statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date
hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We refer you to
the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, specifically the Company's most recent Form 20-F. These
documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained
in the section captioned "Risk Factors" that could cause the actual results
to differ materially from those contained in our projections or
forward-looking statements, including, among others, the severity and
duration of current economic and financial conditions, including volatility
in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices and the value of
financial assets; the impact of Russian, U.S. and other foreign government
programs to restore liquidity and stimulate national and global economies,
our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our
funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so, strategic actions,
including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating
acquired businesses, including Comstar-UTS, potential fluctuations in
quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service
development and tariff structures, rapid technological and market change,
acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications
infrastructure, governmental regulation of the telecommunications industries
and other risks associated with operating in Russia and the CIS, volatility
of stock price, financial risk management and future growth subject to risks.
For further information, please contact in Moscow: Joshua B. Tulgan Director, Investor Relations Mob: +7-985-220-4208 Department of Investor Relations Mobile TeleSystems OJSC Tel: +7-495-223-2025 E-mail: ir@mts.ru
Learn more about MTS. Visit the official blog of the Investor Relations
Department at www.mtsgsm.com/blog/
For further information, please contact in Moscow: Joshua B. Tulgan, Director, Investor Relations, Mob: +7-985-220-4208; Department of Investor Relations, Mobile TeleSystems OJSC, Tel: +7-495-223-2025, E-mail: ir at mts.ru
Tags: April 7, Moscow, Mts Mobile Telesystems, Russia, Russian Federation