MTV buys Jarowskij

Move helps to solidify TV base in Scandinavia

By MARLENE EDMUNDS

AMSTERDAM -- Nearly a year after it bought out Swedish production outfit Mastiff Media and formed the MTV Mastiff brand, Swedish holding company MTV Produktion has agreed to acquire all shares of Scandinavian TV outfit Jarowskij.

MTV Produktion CEO and president Patrick Svensk told Daily Variety the acquisition was "a dream deal," adding its aim was to give the new entity that emerges from this pact "a solid base across the Nordic territories and strengthen its format sales internationally."

Svensk said there would be no redundancies in content, development, sales and programming but there could be cuts in administration.

Jarowskij CEO Helena Skantorp said the new company would particularly look at "expanding and increasing development capacity, a necessity in the current TV climate."

Svensk will head up the new entity as CEO with Skantorp as deputy CEO.

The 20-year-old MTV Produktion has been a player in Norway and Denmark in reality and factual entertainment while Jarowskij is strong in Finland, growing in Sweden, and tends to specialize in comedy and drama, although it also has several hit reality series.

Both companies took some heavy hits in the downsizing of the Nordic TV production markets in recent years. Combined turnover of both companies in 2003 is E51.2 million ($63.3 million).