Viacom secures 75% of Germany's VIVA

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VIVA's Management Board supports the deal, which would bring together the Germany operations of MTV, MTV2 Pop, VIVA, VIVA Plus and Brainpool.

In making the announcements in Frankfurt, Viacom Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer Tom Freston said: "The acquisition of VIVA is a significant strategic initiative that would dramatically expand our position in Germany - the biggest multichannel TV ad market internationally and a key driver of MTV's European growth plans. In bringing together MTV and VIVA as one family, our local management will create a more diverse and exciting programme offer for German TV audiences, while also tapping into the unique advantages of being part of our global network."

It is expected that MTV Networks Central Europe's Managing Director Catherine Muhlemann and Viva Chief Executive Officer Dieter Gorny will be responsible for running the combined companies.

In Germany, MTV Networks Europe says it plans to create complementary yet distinctive positions for each of the four MTV and VIVA channels, in order to collectively offer a wider variety of programming to satisfy a broader range of audience demographics and television tastes.