OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2012. Russia’s leading independent media company CTC Media (NASDAQ: CTCM) has announced the signing of deals to acquire two regional stations – in Belgorod (BelTV) and in Bratsk (TRK MY).

 BelTV broadcasts the CTC television channel in free-to-air. The potential audience reach of the channel in the region is approximately 380,000 viewers, while the city’s weight in the TNS Russia measurement panel is 1.9 percentage points.

 TRK MY broadcasts the Peretz channel in free-to-air. Peretz is now available to 340,000 television viewers in Bratsk, while the city’s weight in the TNS Russia measurement panel amounts to 0.36 percentage points.

Boris Podolsky, Acting CTC Media’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer: “We are continuing to implement our plans to expand our presence of our free-to-air channels across Russia. In 2010-2011, we acquired 21 television stations in 18 towns and cities, which helped us consolidate our position in the regions. In 2012, we also have ambitious plans to increase the level of technical penetration first and foremost for the Domashny and Peretz TV channels, which stood at 84.9% and 80.1% respectively last year. This figure currently stands at 94.7% for the CTC channel.”

Sergei Petrov, CTC Media’s Chief Russian Broadcasting Officer: “The deal to acquire a regional in Belgorod is completed within the framework of an asset consolidation project to ensure broadcasting of the CTC channel in this city, which provides significant contribution to the TNS audience measurement panel. This acquisition has also created opportunities for us to enter the Belgorod regional advertising market. The purchase of the television company in Bratsk has helped us increase the technical penetration of the Peretz channel, which has become yet another step on the way to implementing our regional expansion strategy.”