MTV Central profits in tough German market
Music channel one of four stations making money
Those figures show MTV Central to be one of only four stations here running at a profit, two of which are specialist music channels.
MTV's worldwide CEO, Tom Freston, told Daily Variety that MTV Central made DM71 million ($42.5 million) in revenues last year and profits of DM18 million ($11 million).
Second-most important
"From our 14 24-hour services, Germany is the second-most important in terms of revenues and profits," Freston said.
For 1998, MTV Central is projecting a rise in revenues to $46 million and profits of $15 million.
"Germany is now our priority market," Freston said, adding the channel will be making some "huge investments here," to be announced shortly.
MTV Central, which launched last year, is in the final stages of regionalization, moving over production from London to Germany.
Russia, Spain, Holland, Poland
Stopping off on his way back from Russia, where MTV has just launched service, Freston said MTV is likely to make a move on another European territory before year's end.
"We are currently looking at local versions in Spain, Holland and Poland and plan to launch one of them by the end of the year," he said.
Freston is upbeat about the German market while acknowledging it as one of the world's toughest. "Both MTV and Viva (the German-language music channel) are making profits, and we are very optimistic about the future. There is certainly room for growth," he said.
Viva provides tough competition on home soil, claiming to have better ratings than MTV Central.
