OREANDA-NEWS. December 24, 2009. CTC Media, Inc. (“CTC Media” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CTCM), Russia’s leading independent media company, announced the launch of international broadcasting under the CTC brand in North America through the DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), one of the country’s largest pay-TV providers with 13.6 million subscribers, reported the press-centre of CTC Media.

The international version of CTC will be a 24-hour family entertainment channel with a programming grid consisting of CTC (80%), Domashny and DTV content. Viewers will have the opportunity to watch formats that have proven popular with Russian audiences, such as ‘Margosha’, ‘Daddy’s Girls’, ‘Ranetki’, ‘Cadets’, ‘I Want to Believe!’, ‘Say What’s Wrong’, and many more. CTC Media’s programming is well known for its high quality, topicality and family focus.

Anton Kudryashov, Chief Executive Officer of CTC Media, commented: “The international launch is an important and long-awaited step for us. We have chosen the North American market as the first target for our international expansion due to its significant potential. Moreover, we are confident that there are no comparable offerings among the Russian-language broadcasters in the U.S. In the future, we are also planning to launch an international version of CTC on other broadcasting platforms in the U.S. as well as in Europe, where Russian content will be popular with viewers.”

“DISH Network is thrilled to become the exclusive satellite platform provider of CTC programming in the U.S.,” said Dave Shull, Senior Vice President of Programming for DISH Network Corporation. “Adding a premium family entertainment channel of such high quality to our already fantastic line-up of Russian programming allows DISH Network to offer our subscribers the most diverse Russian programming options in the country.”

Irina Shalinets, Director of the International Broadcasting Department at CTC Media, added: “We are providing viewers with a combination of the highest-rated content of three Russian networks – CTC, Domashny and DTV – which we believe will be very appealing. We hope that, by the winter holidays, all Russian-speaking audiences in the U.S. will be tuning in to the new world of family entertainment made possible by CTC.”

CTC Media content will be distributed by Ethnic Channels Group, Inc. (USA). CTC Media will also provide Ethnic Channels Group with non-exclusive rights for its content distribution via cable, satellite, video-on-demand (VOD), and a number of other broadcasting systems.