WASHINGTON, June 26 (RIA Novosti)- Viacom announced this week that it had signed its first syndication contract to supply MTV branded content to a terrestrial Russian TV channel, worldscreen.com reports.
The two-year deal means that the 23 million households in Russia that receive the free-to-air U Channel will soon be able to enjoy such docu-series as “I Used to Be Fat,” which follows overweight teens striving to lose weight, the self-improvement show “Made,” and the documentary series “True Life” in the Russian language.
Ruben Oganesyan, the CEO of U Channel, said: “I am confident that the television broadcasts will be popular among U Channel’s young female audience and the shows are sure to awaken an echo in their hearts,” Worldscreen reported.
In 2011 the US Social Security Administration revealed that one of the shows featured in the deal, “16 and Pregnant” starred a mother and son ("Maci" and "Bentley") whose names saw the greatest increase in frequency that year. Whether the show will have the same cultural impact in Russia remains to be seen.
