OBSERVATOIRE EUROPÉEN DE L'AUDIOVISUEL EUROPEAN AUDIOVISUAL OBSERVATORY EUROPÄISCHE AUDIOVISUELLE INFORMATIONSSTELLE http://www.obs.coe.int TELEVISION IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE, PROGRAMME PRODUCTION AND AUDIENCE A Report for the European Audiovisual Observatory Sada Aksartova Floriana Fossato Anna Kachkaeva Grigory Libergal March 2003 The analyses expressed in this report are the authors’ own opinion and cannot in any way be considered as representing the point of view of the European Audiovisual Observatory, its members and the Council of Europe. © European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg, 2003. 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 1 2. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK..................................................................................... 5 2.1. LEGISLATION ................................................................................................................ 5 Key Media Legislation and Its Problems...................................................................... 6 Legislation of Related Industries................................................................................. 15 Copyright and Related Rights...................................................................................... 17 Other Laws and Regulatory Statutes ......................................................................... 17 Anti-Monopoly Regulation and Foreign Participation .............................................. 19 The Two-Tiered System of Media Regulation - Centre vs. Regions..................... 20 2.2. STATE REGULATION ................................................................................................. 21 Ministry for Print and Broadcast Media and Federal Competition Commission .. 21 Ministry of Communications......................................................................................... 24 The Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC).................................... 25 State Duma Committee for Information Policy and Communications................... 26 Judicial Chamber for Information Disputes ............................................................... 26 2.3. SELF-REGULATION.................................................................................................... 27 3. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE ............................................................................... 30 3.1. LEADING STATE AND PRIVATE TV COMPANIES .................................................. 30 National Channels and Networks................................................................................ 33 Regional Television Companies.................................................................................. 42 3.2. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS (STATE SUPPORT, ADVERTISING, SUBSCRIPTION)................. 45 State Support ................................................................................................................. 45 Advertising ...................................................................................................................... 51 Subscription.................................................................................................................... 61 3.3. TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES............................................................................................ 62 Technical Infrastructure ................................................................................................ 62 Household Ownership of Equipment.......................................................................... 62 TV Broadcasting ............................................................................................................ 63 Cable and Satellite TV .................................................................................................. 64 4. TV PROGRAMMING MARKET..................................................................................... 69 4.1. MARKET DESCRIPTION................................................................................................. 69 TV Broadcasters in Russia........................................................................................... 70 4.2. TYPES OF TELEVISION PROGRAMMING....................................................................... 73 Films ................................................................................................................................ 73 Television Series ........................................................................................................... 75 Producers of Television Series.................................................................................... 76 Reality and Game Shows............................................................................................. 77 News................................................................................................................................ 77 Sports .............................................................................................................................. 78 Children’s Programmes ................................................................................................ 78 Cultural and Educational .............................................................................................. 79 4.3. PROFILES OF LEADING PRODUCTION COMPANIES ..................................................... 80 5. STRATEGIC ISSUES....................................................................................................... 83 6. INFORMATION SOURCES ............................................................................................ 85 6.1. DESCRIPTION AND EVALUATION OF INFORMATION SOURCES ................................... 85 Basic Information Resources....................................................................................... 85 Professional Magazines ............................................................................................... 85 News Weeklies Regularly Discussing TV Issues ..................................................... 87 Academic Sources......................................................................................................... 87 Daily Newspapers.......................................................................................................... 88 6.2. LIST OF CONTACTS...................................................................................................... 89 Regulatory Agencies..................................................................................................... 89 Professional Associations ............................................................................................ 90 Television Broadcast Companies ............................................................................... 93 Production Companies ................................................................................................. 97 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................. 100 1. INTRODUCTION In 1991, the Soviet era Gosteleradio state system included four national television channels, 52 stations in the former Soviet republics and 78 regional stations in the Russian Federation. Today, Russia has nine television channels seen by more than 50 % of the population. These include four national channels (Channel One, Rossia, NTV, Kultura,) five national networks (TNT, CTC, Ren TV, TVS, TV Centre,) and two satellite systems (NTV Plus and Kosmos TV) offering packages that include dozens of international channels. The country also has over a thousand regional television companies, of which about 600 are independent of the state. In 1991, the term “advertising market” was virtually unknown, while ten years later the Russian ad market had grown to $1.73 billion, according to the Russian Association of Advertising Agencies (RARA). The relatively new Russian advertising sector now employs thousands of people. Despite more than ten years of these “revolutionary” developments, important issues such as media ownership and the rights and responsibilities of journalists and media managers in a developing democracy are still topics of discussion in the media community. As this report was written (2002/2003), the Russian television system was entering a new transitional phase that may or may not lead to the creation of a real media industry and of a real media market in Russia. Current problems in the Russian media industry do not bear a specific connection to Russian managers, owners and journalists, although mass media management practices and journalistic professionalism have ample space for improvement. Rather, the unpredictable nature of the new Russian economy provides a poor basis for the independent operation of the commercial mass media market. Another significant factor influencing media industry development has been the 1991 mass media legislation and the emergence of a new culture for its implementation. Like all laws, especially those with few precedents, mass media laws are open to broad interpretation. When state authorities find it expedient to interfere, they have several levers of influence (ownership rights, the ability to grant subsidies, distribution of transmitters and signal). 1 One of the main objectives of this report is to attempt to provide a description of the state of the industry through 2001. The report is also an attempt to examine and