The new MTV Latvija television channel, part of the global music network’s expansion into the Baltic states, will be led by a veteran of the television, music and advertising business, the network announced March 28.

Liliāna Ozoliņa, whose previous experience includes working for Latvijas Neatkarīga televīzija (LNT) where she was responsible for the show “Mūzikas video,” is the new director of MTV Latvija. She will report to the MTV Baltic office in Lithuania and the MTV Networks Europe office in London.

MTV announced March 6 that it will expand into the Baltics. MTV Baltic will include three channels—MTV Eesti, MTV Latvija and MTV Lietuva—each broadcasting in the national language of the respective country. All three channels are expected to begin transmission later this year.

“Our local launches in the Baltic states will provide viewers with an exciting mixture of locally produced and MTV signature programming,” Dean Possenniskie of MTV Networks Europe said in a press release. “It will also offer multiple platform sponsorship for advertisers and will help drive take up of cable and satellite in the Baltic republics.”

The channels, which are expected to reach about 1 million viewers in the Baltics, will be aimed at the 15- to 35-year-old audience.

MTV Baltic will be led by chief executive officer Marius Veselis, a veteran of Lithuanian television.

MTV, now owned by Viacom International Inc., began in the United States in 1981.