|
World Television Overview: Russian Federation |
|
||
| Main Channels | History, Recent Developments, Important Considerations | Audience Market Share | ||
| Arena Corp Caro
Premier Co Central
Partnership Confetti DVD
Group DVD
Service EA
Television Film East-West
Creative Assoc Forte Media Intercinema Art Agency Korolevskaya
Gora Kredo
Aspek Krupny
Plan Lyco
Co Most Cinematograph Most-Media NTV
Broadcasting Company ORT
Video Paradise
MGN Pelican Premier
TV & Videofilm Ruscico Skip-Media Soventure Soyuz-Video THT
Network Twin
SP Videofilm Videogram Videoservice
Corp West Multimedia West
Video Yekaterinburg
Art All-Russian
State TV & Radio Co CTC Network Center
TV Broadcasting Corp Center-TV Darial TV EFIR 12 Channel HBC Kosmos TV M1 Network NTV-Plus NVS/Intermedia NAT
Cable/Sat TV Nord
TV Ort
(Public Television) Region
Tymen Rifei
Perm STS THT
Network TV6 TV MTRK MIR MTV
Channel REN-TV Russian
Cable TV Cor Shkolnik
|
Almost all Russians watch TV daily for an average of three-and-a-half hours per day, and 50% of households own more than one set. 45% of these still watch in black-and-white, although 66% have colour. The major national stations are beamed from Moscow's Ostankino tower; regional TV is largely terrestrial. Broadcast licences exist for 1 276 operators (Ministry of Press & Broadcasting, 2002), although this figure is probably conservative with respect to the number of actual broadcasters. Cable licences total 258, but the number of operators is nearly twelve times as many. The nine principal national channels
reach roughly half of ORT (public/private), TVS, Ren-Tv, CTC, TNT (federal networks). Kultura (public) and Moscow municipal TVC (TV Centre) are regional, but available nationally. The state controls VGTRK, which is the holding company for RTR and Kultura, plus 68 regional stations. RTR relies for 30% of its operational budget on the state, and ORT is also heavily state-subsidised. Together, ORT and RTR account for 50% of audience share, and also enjoy 70% of national TV advertising revenue. 98% of Russians can receive ORT, and 95% get RTR. NTV covers 75% and Moscow federal channels TVS, TVC and Kultura are available to 60%, 39% and 36% of the nation, respectively. Ren-TV, STS and TNT are also nationally available, but figures are less impressive. Sunday evenings are given over to serious news and current affairs programming, across the board. This does not mean, however, that news reporting is unbiased. The post-communist emergent Russian oligarchy exercises considerable persuasive power over on both national and local platforms. Approx. 500 private stations are now legal, with a further 300 owned (or partially owned) by the state. Public-owned ORT faces stark competition from RTR (public) and NTV (private). NTV was established by former taxi-driver
(and trained theatrical producer) Vladimir Gousinsky in 1993. It was compromised heavily by a forced
alliance with Boris Beresovsky's now defunct
TV-6; disapproval of NTV's reporting on
Private operators exist in 77 out
of 89 regions and regional penetration (no. of channels) in the most
developed 15 regions is between 15 and 58. Russians are particularly
fond of films, entertainment/family programmes, cultural and educational
content, and sport. Movies are frequently home-grown, and, as is the
case elsewhere in the East, soaps and serials from the Kultura is probably eSCape tv's best bet amongst the majors, since the other channels concentrate invariably on populist content due to commercial and advertising interests. Viewing alternatives over cable networks could be more imaginative, and eSCape tv could fill a gap in the market here, but lack of centralised control and regulation might render initial returns unpredictable, and possibly even unknown in terms of audience penetration. Satellite is a minority feature of
Public ORT 41% RTR 13% Private NTV 25% |
Public RTR
13% |
||
