Viacom To Relaunch Nickelodeon Turkey Back On Digiturk On 1st March 2012; Nickelodeon HD Turkey And Nick Jr. Channel Turkey To Launch Soon

From C21Media:

Viacom nets back on Digiturk

MTV and Nickelodeon [MTV Turkey and Nickelodeon Turkey] will relaunch on Turkish pay-TV platform Digiturk almost two years after going dark during a carriage dispute.

The new agreement covers six Viacom International Media Networks' (VIMN) channels over six years and begins with MTV, MTV Live and Nickelodeon rolling out on March 1.

Nickelodeon HD and Nick Jr will follow later and music net VH1, which was already carried on the Digiturk platform, is also part of the deal. Furthermore, the Turkish company will take on ad sales for MTV and Nick in the territory.

The deal comes after C21 reported MTV and Nickelodeon had ceased broadcasting on Digiturk in May 2010 following a dispute with local channel operator Multi Channel Developers (MCD).

Both sides took out lawsuits against the other, with MTV claiming MCD was refusing to pay for content for Nick and MTV and had breached agreement terms.

In return, MCD alleged VIMN (formerly MTV Networks International) had broken terms of their distribution agreement and got a temporary injunction that banned Viacom from distributing the channels direct to broadcast platforms.

C21 later revealed the pair had reached an out-of-court settlement to end the cases in the UK and Turkey and would cease their relationship in August 2011.

“We’re pleased to announce our new partnership with Digiturk for the distribution of our channels across Turkey,” said Antonio Campo Dall’Orto, VIMN’s executive VP for Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. MTV first broadcast in Turkey in 2006.

Jesse Whittock
28-02-2012
©C21Media

You can visit the official Nickelodeon Turkey website at Nickelodeon.com.tr.