Viasat 1 global boss tours Ghana
President and Chief Executive Officer of the global media company, Modern Times Group (MTG), the parent company of Viasat 1, has explained that the group chose to locate its African headquarters in Ghana because it understands the Ghanaian market has a long-term commitment.
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Viasat 1 started operations in the country five years ago and the Modern Times Group has since expanded to six more countries on the African continent.
“We have always said that we have a long-term commitment to Ghana. We know the country and we have been successful in business here, so it makes perfect sense to establish our African headquarters in Ghana,” Mr Jorgen Madsen Lindemann, the president and CEO of the Group, was quoted as saying in a release issued ahead of his visit to Ghana.
Mr Lindemann is on his first trip to Ghana after taking over as President and CEO of the MTG in September last year. His trip includes visits to Viasat1, as well as the production company Modern African Productions, founded by MTG in 2010, also based in Accra.
“It´s my first time in Ghana but from a business perspective we have always known that our investments in Ghana have been right from the start. The economy is growing rapidly, all major clients and advertising agencies are present, and we have always felt welcomed by the business community,” Mr Lindemann said in the statement.
Since the launch in 2008, MTG´s Viasat 1 has grown into the second largest free to air TV station in Ghana, with hit shows such as “The One Show”, Viasat news and “This Morning”.
The production company Modern African Productions serves all of sub-Saharan Africa with high quality content, setting new standards for TV entertainment productions. Some recent productions include Viasat 1´s “Born Starz” and “Boys Boys”.
In addition to the TV channel and content production business in Ghana, MTG launched the pay-TV channels Viasat History, Viasat Nature, Viasat Explorer and Viasat Crime in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria in 2011 and introduced Viasat Explorer and Viasat Crime into Guinea and the Central African Republic in 2012.
With such a large presence in several African countries, MTG has recently taken the logical next step and established a whole sub-division – MTG Africa – as the mother company for all its operations on the continent.
MTG Africa is headed by Joseph Hundah, former Managing Director of MultiChoice in Nigeria, who joined MTG in 2011 and was promoted to Executive Vice President and CEO of MTG Africa in October 2012.
The statement said Mr Lindemann was very open about the fact that Africa was a major focal point of MTG´s investments for future years, both when it comes to investing in current businesses, as well as being on the lookout for new investment opportunities.
“Financially we are a very strong company, and we are always committed to building long-term businesses wherever we invest. Africa has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, and we will expand our footprint further and quickly,” he stressed.