MTV will retreat from free-to-air television in Germany: From January 2011, the channel will only be available as a digital pay-TV offer via cable, satellite and IPTV.

The news was revealed by Dan Ligtvoet, managing director of MTV Networks for Germany, the Nordic region and Benelux countries, in an article to Financial Times Deutschland.

Ligtvoet revealed that MTV’s sister channel VIVA will be turned into MTV Networks’ central music and entertainment channel in the German free-to-air market, screening TV shows from the whole MTV Networks channel family. “VIVA will thereby also become a freely accessible window into our programme world,” said Ligtvoet.

MTV Networks, part of US media company Viacom, is the first TV broadcaster in Germany to convert one of its established channels from an advertising-financed business model into a pay-TV offer. “With the move, we will achieve a more balanced spreading of our revenues in future. I expect more growth from this,” said Ligtvoet.

Carriage deals for MTV as a pay-TV service are thought to have been signed already with several cable operators and pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland, reports the financial newspaper.

Also, MTV Networks will launch pure music channel MTV brand new in Germany - as a pay-TV service as well.