Post-Soviet Media Law & Policy Newsletter
Issue 27-28
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law March 31, 1996
The BBC’s Guide to Russian Broadcasting
Among the treasures of the BBC is its service reporting
on world broadcasting information gathered from newspaper articles on the
monitoring of radio and television accounts. The group that performs this
extraordinary function, and which provides invaluable information on broadcast-related
developments throughout the world provided its audience with the following
guide to Russian broadcasting. We thought it was a useful summary:
The Russian Federal Service for TV and Radio Broadcasting
(FSTR) is the industry’s regulatory body. It was established by a presidential
decree of 22nd December 1993 and a prime ministerial directive of 1st November
1994, replacing the Administration for Radio and TV Broadcasting in the
former Russian Ministry of Press and Information.
The December 1993 decree stated that the FSTR would
be equivalent in status to a ministry. It would coordinate the activity
of national and regional state TV and radio broadcasting organizations;
assist in the objective reporting of the political, economic, social and
cultural life of Russia to the Russian and international communities; and
conduct a unified state policy when deciding production, technical and
financial matters in the area of TV and radio broadcasting.
The FSTR was given control of the licensing of state
and non-state broadcasters. In addition, it is responsible for disbursing
government funding to the state broadcasters. It also has responsibilities
regarding the transmission arrangements for state broadcasters (see below
under Transmission).
Despite its apparent wide-ranging responsibilities,
the exact nature in which the FSTR exercises its role and powers is unclear.
Major changes affecting state broadcasters tend to be announced in the
form of presidential decrees whilst the Ministry of Internal Affairs appears
to have powers of closure in respect of private stations.
Five of the FSTR’s members are appointed by the president
with the other five being nominated by the Federation Council and the State
Duma (the upper and lower houses of the Russian parliament respectively).
The chairman is appointed by the president and approved by the Duma. The
FSTR’s first chairman was Aleksandr Yakovlev, a close ally of Mikhail Gorbachev
and one of the chief architects of his policy of glasnost. Yakovlev resigned
in March 1995 and was replaced by his deputy, Valentin Lazutkin. (Yakovlev
has also played an important role in the ORT and Ostankino broadcasting
companies - see below.) The current deputy head of the FSTR is Vladimir
Makoveyev.
Figures given by the FSTR in summer 1995 indicated that
there were over 90 state and over 800 non-state radio and TV companies
in the country.
In December 1995 the government ordered the creation
of a State Fund for TV and Radio Programs (Gosteleradiofond) which would
be responsible for “selecting, forming and storing” programs as part of
the country’s cultural heritage. The director of Gosteleradiofond is Anatoliy
Bystrovets.
Funding
The 1996 federal budget allocates R2,100bn to television
and radio broadcasting, equivalent to about 460m dollars.
State broadcasters also obtain substantial revenues
from advertising and sponsorship. They compete for such private-sector
funding with the non-state broadcasters which have opened up since 1990.
In August 1995 the country’s largest TV station, ORT, stated that it sold
advertising time at between 1,500 and 28,000 dollars per minute.
Transmission
Most state broadcasting companies do not own the
transmitters which radiate their programs. The transmitters are in the
hands of separate enterprises, either state-owned, under the Ministry of
Communications, or privatized bodies. For example, the state-owned Television
Technical Centre (TTTs) undertakes the transmission of a number of TV stations
including Russian Public TV (ORT) and the private stations NTV and TV6.
In addition, ORT leases its offices and production equipment from the TTTs.
Some private stations have their own transmitters; others
hire airtime from the transmission companies.
For some time a major problem affecting state broadcasting
has been their inability to pay for the transmission of their output. As
of 1st November 1995 the state radio and TV companies owed a total of R706bn
to the various firms that operate the transmitters. This has created a
knock-on effect: the transmission companies have been unable to pay their
electricity bills and so there have been numerous instances of power companies
disconnecting transmitting stations.
Similarly, staff at the transmission companies went
on strike in February 1994 over the nonpayment of their wages and have
threatened to repeat the action on a number of subsequent occasions.
The reported incidence of power being cut to transmitting
stations fell substantially in November 1995 after Prime Minister Chernomyrdin
ordered that such cuts should not take place.
In December 1995 the government made the FSTR responsible
for arranging the transmission of state radio and TV. It gave such transmissions
“federal supply status” and allocated R20bn to the Ministry of Communications
to restore transmissions.
Rebroadcasting in the “near abroad”
These financial problems have also affected the
relays of broadcasts from Moscow in the former states of the USSR. There
have been disputes over who should pay for these relays - the Moscow-based
stations, the local rebroadcasters, Russia or the relevant countries.
The rebroadcasting issue has political overtones. This
has been most obvious in the Baltic republics but has also arisen elsewhere:
the move in August 1995 by the Ukrainian authorities to move the relays
of Russian Public TV to a less favorable channel caused much upset.
The CIS
The Mir Interstate TV and Radio Company was set
up as a way of trying to maintain some sort of broadcasting system that
covered the former Soviet Union. However, it has no broadcasting network
of its own and has to rely on its programs (produced by the radio and TV
companies in most CIS member states) being transmitted by third parties.
In July 1995 it was stated that the main aim of the
Mir company was to “cover objectively and impartially all aspects of life
and international ties between the founder-states of the company, and to
inform citizens of events and processes taking place in the CIS” No doubt
as a result of a lack of both finance and political will, the activities
of the Mir company receive little attention. However, a report on a meeting
of the company in Alma-Ata in December 1995 stated that its priorities
included a “multi-functional satellite broadcasting system” which would
operate via the Intelsat system with ground stations in Moscow, Minsk,
St Petersburg, Alma-Ata, Bishkek and Yerevan. The meeting was also said
to have discussed the organization of daily five-hour broadcasts to CIS
countries.
THE MAIN STATE BROADCASTERS
ORT & Ostankino
The Russian State TV and Radio Company “Ostankino”
(Rossiyskaya Gosudarstvennaya Teleradiokompaniya “Ostankino” ) is the direct
successor to the former USSR State Committee for Radio & TV (Gosteleradio),
the body which had overall responsibility broadcasting in the country.
Prior to 1st April 1995 the Ostankino company was best known as the broadcaster
which had the license to transmit via “channel 1” of the Russian TV system.
On 30th November 1994 Yeltsin signed a decree giving
control of broadcasting on channel 1 to a new organization - Russian Public
TV (Obshchestvennoye Rossiyskoye Televideniye, ORT). Fifty-one per cent
of ORT’s shares are federal property and are held by various state bodies,
including ITAR-TASS and Ostankino itself. The remaining 49 per cent are
owned by a number of separate private shareholders.
In April and May 1995 the State Duma and the Federation
Council voted to nullify Yeltsin’s decree and suspend the operations of
ORT. This was vetoed by Yeltsin. In November and December 1995 parliament
passed another law deeming the creation of ORT to be illegal and ordering
it to cease broadcasting; once again, this was vetoed by Yeltsin.
In October 1995 Yeltsin issued a further decree saying
that the Ostankino company should be “wound up.”
ORT was originally scheduled to have begun broadcasting
on 1st February 1995. This was later postponed to 1st April 1995.
Despite the launch of ORT, the pattern of broadcasting
on channel 1 did not change radically. In addition to being a major shareholder
in ORT, Ostankino’s relationship with the new company is also that of a
program producer/provider, and many of the programs shown on ORT - channel
1 are still produced by Ostankino. ORT’s role is largely that of a commissioning
broadcaster (along the lines of Britain’s Channel Four); in addition to
Ostankino material, it also screens programs made by other, independent,
TV production companies. ORT’s news programs have continued to be produced
by Ostankino’s news and current affairs division ITA (Television News Agency).
At its first board meeting on 25th January 1995, the
chairman of Ostankino, Aleksandr Yakovlev, was elected to the post of ORT
chairman.The same meeting elected Vladislav Listyev, a prominent TV journalist,
as ORT director-general.
Listyev was murdered on 1st March 1995. It was widely
rumored that his killing was related to a struggle for criminal control
of the TV advertising market.
Yakovlev resigned as chairman of Ostankino on 16th March
1995, but remained in post as chairman of ORT. The current chairman of
Ostankino is Igor Yakovenko.
Sergey Blagovolin was appointed ORT director-general
(replacing Listyev) on 20th March 1995.
The first deputy chairman of ORT is Boris Berezovskiy,
a leading businessman and Yeltsin supporter who is also reportedly one
of the major private investors in the company. (Berezovskiy also owns a
stake in the private station TV6 - see below.)
The ORT’s board of trustees is headed by Yeltsin.
ORT’s broadcasts on channel 1 are available in five
versions (one for European Russia and four time-shifted versions, Orbita
1 to 4, for areas further east). This allows programs to be seen at convenient
local times.
ORT’s programming is supportive of President Yeltsin
and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin. Audience research has shown that ORT is
the most watched TV station in the country.
ORT also owns 29 per cent of the Independent Ukrainian
TV Corporation.
In addition to its TV work, Ostankino also operates
four nationwide radio stations: Radio-1 (mainly speech-based), Mayak (music
and news), Radio Yunost (youth channel) and Radio Orfey (classical music).
Yeltsin’s October 1995 decree suggested that Mayak and Yunost might be
privatized.
All-Russia State TV and Radio Company (VGTRK)
Note: VGTRK (Vserossiyskaya Gosudarstvennaya Teleradiokompaniya)
is often known as “RTR” (Russian TV and Radio).
VGTRK was formed in 1990 in a move to give the Russian
Federation its own voice, independent of the then Soviet channels. VGTRK
operates via “channel 2” of the Russian TV system. This service is often
referred to simply as “Russian Television” (Rossiyskoye Televideniye).
Like ORT, it is available in five versions (one for European Russia, and
four time-shifted versions, Dubl 1 to 4, for areas further east).
One of the main problems that Russian Television faces
is that in many parts of the country it has to share channel 2 with regional
broadcasters. There have been reports in the Russian press that Russian
Television is actively seeking to swap channels with ORT, arguing that
as the former is wholly state-owned, whilst ORT is only 51 per cent state-owned,
it should have the use of the principal broadcasting network.
VGTRK also operates the educational station Russian
Universities TV, which shares “channel 4” with the independent TV station
NTV. There has been friction between the two stations over this arrangement
(see under NTV below). In December 1995 President Yeltsin signed a decree
providing for Russian Universities TV to change its format from an educational
station to one covering both education and sports. The new format is to
be introduced by 1st July 1996. This new service is headed by Tatyana Nikolayeva.
VGTRK’s former chairman, Oleg Poptsov, was sacked by
Yeltsin on 15th February 1996 and replaced by Eduard Sagalayev, director-general
of the private station TV6 (see below). (In August 1995 Sagalayev had been
elected president of the newly-formed National Association of Non-State
Television Broadcasters, whose members include 36 non-state companies and,
despite its name, eight state companies, including ORT .) Poptsov’s dismissal
followed accusations by Yeltsin that the Russian TV channel had been painting
a “black” picture of developments in the country.
Shortly afterwards, VGTRK Director-General Anatoliy
Lysenko was appointed first deputy chairman of the company whilst night-club
owner Miroslav Melnik was appointed second deputy chairman.
VGTRK also operates two radio stations:
* Radio Rossii (for domestic audiences). This is reported
to be the most listened to station in the country. It began broadcasting
in December 1990.
* Golos Rossii (Voice of Russia, a Russian-language
shortwave external service). Rather confusingly, this Voice of Russia service
has nothing to do with another “Voice of Russia” (formerly “Radio Moscow”
), which is the country’s main foreign-language external service and is
controlled by a separate company.
Petersburg Channel 5 State Radio and TV Company
This company is owned by the St Petersburg municipality.
It operates St Petersburg Channel 5 TV. Despite its name, this is transmitted
widely in Russia, including in Moscow, on “channel 5” and is said to be
available to about half the country’s population. However, its audience
ratings are low.
Yeltsin’s October 1995 decree gave the company “all-Russia”
status (alongside ORT and VGTRK) and suggested, without giving any details,
that it might be used as the basis of a “regional all-Russia TV broadcasting
channel” . A new chairman of the station, Oleg Rudnyy, was appointed in
June 1995, replacing the controversial Bella Kurkova.
Regional TV
A number of regional and local governments operate
TV stations. The broadcasts from nearly all of these stations only cover
a limited area. One exception is the Sakhalin Teleradiokompaniya which
broadcasts via satellite to the Russian Far East from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
In October 1995 Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said
there were plans to establish a new channel - TV-Region - which would focus
on coverage of regional news.
In December 1995 a charter was approved for a “Model
Regional State TV and Radio Broadcasting Organization” , which would be
subordinate to the FSTR.
SOME OTHER STATIONS
Moscow
2x2 TV,which carries a mixture of news and entertainment
programming, is funded by the advertising agency Video International. Its
director-general is Vladimir Troyepolskiy. In Moscow, 2x2 TV shares “ channel
3” with the MTK (Moskovskaya Telekompaniya) TV station. 2x2 is also relayed
via satellite.
MTK TV is operated by a joint stock company in which
Moscow City Council has an interest. MTK has the use of channel 3 during
the evening prime time period. It focuses on reporting developments in
the city. Its director-general is Aygar Misyan.
In November 1995 MTK reported that the municipal authorities
had launched Moscow Cable TV, a channel designed to encourage dialogue
between the city authorities and its residents.
NTV (Nezavisimoye Televideniye - “Independent Television”
) is a news-oriented station which began broadcasting on a restricted basis
in October 1993 and more fully in January 1994. It shares “channel 4” with
Russian Universities TV (operated by VGTRK). This gives it coverage of
over half the population of the Russian Federation, but limits its broadcasts
to the period between 6 p.m. and midnight (Universities TV occupies the
channel in the morning and afternoon). NTV has frequently expressed its
wish to broadcast around the clock and has often criticized Russian Universities
TV for its allegedly inefficient use of the channel.
The controlling share in NTV is held by Vladimir Gusinskiy,
the chairman of Most Bank, who is also the financial backer of the news-based
Ekho Moskvy (Moscow Echo) radio station and the newspaper Segodnya.’
The director-general of NTV is Igor Malashenko.
NTV’s programming supports reformist policies. It is
often critical of the authorities (this was particularly noticeable during
the 1994-95 war in Chechnya).
TV6 Moscow was originally a joint venture between Russian
interests (including leading businessman and Yeltsin supporter Boris Berezovskiy)
and Ted Turner’s TBS of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Its programs, which are
entertainment-oriented, can be seen by about half the country’s population.
In February 1996 TV6 Director-General Eduard Sagalayev was appointed chairman
of the All-Russia State Radio and TV Company (VGTRK, see above).
Tele-Express 31, which is funded by the Evrosib company,
aims to provide coverage of news from outside Moscow.
Channel 51 began broadcasting in March 1995, at which
time it was operated by the Kosmos-10 company. In September 1995 it was
reported that programming on Channel 51 was now controlled by two “major
entertainment industry moguls.”
St Petersburg
TV3 is a station operated by Telekanal 27, a company
set up by the St Petersburg Municipality (which also operates St Petersburg
Channel 5 TV) and the British firm International Network Television (INT)
plc. In addition to local coverage in St Petersburg, it also transmits
via satellite. Its programming is entertainment-oriented.
St Petersburg Channel 6 TV (not to be confused with
TV6 Moscow or St Petersburg Channel 5 TV) broadcasts both locally and via
satellite.