OREANDA-NEWS. On September 04, 2007 CTC Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCM), Russia’s leading independent television broadcaster, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority financial interest in Channel 31 group, one of the leading broadcasters in Kazakhstan, for approximately $65 million in cash, and registered a broadcasting company in Uzbekistan, reported the press-centre of CTC Media.

In Kazakhstan, following the closing of the transaction, which is expected to take several months, CTC Media will hold a 20% participation interest in Channel 31 and majority ownership positions in affiliate companies that will provide the advertising sales function and programming content for Channel 31.  These interests will provide CTC Media with a right to 60% of the economic interest of the Channel 31 group and will enable it to consolidate the financial statements of Channel 31 group with its own.

Chief Executive Officer of CTC Media, Alexander Rodnyansky, said, “We are excited about the opportunity the Kazakhstan market presents. This is a country with a population of more than 15 million people and a fast-growing economy. It has significant potential for further growth in the television advertising market which industry experts estimated at approximately $200 million in 2006 and is the third largest among the countries of the former Soviet Union behind Russia and Ukraine. With younger viewers comprising an unusually high proportion of total audience in the country, CTC's focus on younger demographics provides us with an attractive opportunity to gain audience share. Together with our Kazakh partners, a prominent team of professionals led by journalist and executive Armanjan Baitasov, we aim to create a high quality entertainment television station in Kazakhstan while maintaining the channels' distinct local appeal.”

In addition to the Kazakhstan acquisition, CTC Media, in cooperation with Terra group, a leading independent Uzbek media holding company, has registered a television company in Uzbekistan, which is expected to commence operations in 2008 on Channel 30. CTC Media will own 51 percent of the company. The population of Uzbekistan is more than 27 million people.

Alexander Rodnyansky further commented, “Together with our Terra group partners which possess a unique commercial TV and radio broadcasting experience in Uzbekistan, we will create the first national TV player with foreign ownership participation in a TV market that had been developing in isolation for quite a while. This allows us to bring together the concept of private entertainment television and our programming and operational expertise. In cooperation with our local partners, we are in a unique position to reshape and develop the Uzbek TV landscape.”

“We are pleased to announce that we are executing on our growth strategy and reaching out to over 40 million people in Central Asia. CTC Media will bring to the region its brands, operational competencies, advertising relationships and, most importantly, its marquee Russian content -- a proven success with Russian-speaking audiences. We are hopeful that our resources combined with the local talent and programming expertise will result in a uniquely lucrative entertainment-focused television offering”, concluded Alexander Rodnyansky.