Commercial TV network MTV3 news hit by employee walkout

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The news programmes of the commercial television network MTV3 were cancelled on Monday and Tuesday following a walkout by personnel. The move came after the company announced plans to cut jobs and outsource its technical operations.
      The MTV media concern said that it would initiate talks with representatives of staff on the cutting of 50 jobs. The company also plans to sell its technical operations to Blue Media television and film production company. Under the deal, MTV’s 62 technical employees will become employees of Blue Media.
      The MTV Concern currently employs about 500 people.
     
The announcement prompted a walkout by staff, which shut down the news operations of MTV3 on Monday. The action will continue through Tuesday. In addition to its regular news broadcasts, the walkout kept the channel’s breakfast TV programme Huomenta Suomi off the air on Tuesday morning.
      Other MTV3 programmes were shown on schedule.
      The company’s CEO Pekka Karhuvaara denounced the walkout as an illegal strike, whose consequences would be assessed later.
     
Karhuvaara promised that the personnel cuts would not be reflected in the company’s programming.
      "Programme budgets will not be touched, and no programmes will be cancelled, or deteriorate in quality", he promised.
      He also said that most of the job cuts will be enacted through pension arrangements.
      Karhuvaara says that one reason for the moves is that the company’s advertising sales have grown just two percent in the past year, while those of the rest of the media market have grown by 4.5%.
      However, the main reason given for the decision was a need to cut costs. Karhuvaara denied that the company’s new Swedish owner had anything to do with the move.
      MTV, the former Broadcasting Division of Alma Media, was sold to a joint venture of the Swedish media giant Bonnier and the Proventus investment company for EUR 460 million early this year.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  UPDATE: Finnish Broadcasting Company personnel stage walkout to protest planned job cuts (6.9.2005)
  New MTV3 owner Bengt Braun a strong believer in Nordic TV cooperation (4.2.2005)
  Nearly all shareholders back sale of MTV3 to Sweden (1.2.2005)
  Alma Media to sell MTV3 and Radio Nova to Swedish media group (24.1.2005)

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