TVS Russia

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For other uses, see TVS.

TVS was a Russian independent television network which was shut down on June 21, 2003.^[1]^[2]

[edit] Creation

On January 11, 2002, TV6 lost a court battle over bankruptcy and was put into liquidation unanimously by 14 judges sitting in the supreme arbitration court.^[3]^[4]

At midnight on January 22, 2002 the Press Ministry pulled TV-6 off the air. The frequency is temporarily filled with programming from the NTV Plus Sports satellite channel. The auction for TV-6's old frequency was scheduled for March 27, 2002.

On March 27, 2002 the Media-Sotsium partnership wins the frequency auction, becoming the licensee and broadcaster, with the employees of the TV6 producing.

On [June 1], 2002 TVS began broadcasting.

[edit] Closure

On July 22, 2002 the Moscow Arbitration Court rules that MNVK was taken off the air unlawfully.

The station suffered from low ratings and poor ad revenue and had many financial problems. TVS's debt to Vneshekonombank (the Bank for Foreign Economic Activity) came to about $100 million. TVS also owed more than $6 million in back pay to employees, who had not been paid for three months.

Mostelekom (the city-owned cable operator that carried TVS in Moscow) began taking TVS's signal off Moscow's cable television networks on June 2, 2003 (after which more than 90% of Moscow residents were unable to view the channel), demanding that the TV company's shareholders pay off arrears of $8 million.

On June 17, 2003 TVS editor-in-chief Yevgeny Kiselyov announced that lack of funding has made it impossible for the company to continue operating, and that after June 23 the channel might suspend broadcasting.

With unlawful reasoning "for viewer's benefit" the Ministry of Press switched off TVS broadcast on June 22, 2003 - 24 hours before shut down planned by station management. It was widely speculated in the press, that such hurried shut down was done to prevent final broadcast of Yevgeny Kiselyov's "Itogi" show, the only remaining oppositional political broadcast at the time. Later MNVK allowed the state all-sports programming to broadcast on vacant channel 6.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]

[edit] Notes

^ (July 23 2003) "Last 'Independent' TV Station Shut Down". Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press. Translation of Where The End Began For TVS. Kommersant, June 23, 2003, p. 4. Media-Sotsium was a nonprofit partnership, founded by Arkady Volsky, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and Yevgeny Primakov, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
^ Zolotov Jr., Andrei (May 31 2002). "TV6 Team Goes Back on the Air Saturday". The Moscow Times.
^ Boudreaux, Richard (January 12 2002). "Russia's Last Free Channel Dealt a Blow; Media: Higher court rules that the TV station is insolvent and must be liquidated. Critics say the Kremlin is cracking down on free speech.". Los Angeles Times: 3. States that their were "13 arbitration judges", not 14.
^ Traynor, Ian (January 12 2002). "Kremlin's last TV critic silenced: Senior judges put independent station into liquidation". The Guardian: 15.
^ (October 2 2003) "Russia: Rosmediakom to sue former head of TV-6 over non-return of property". BBC Monitoring World Media. Text of report by Russian newspaper Kommersant on 24 September
^ (September 28 2003) "Russian TV Channel Finds An Audience - Abroad Kremlin Silences Some Local Critics". The Boston Globe.
^ Birch, Douglas (September 6 2003). "For Russian television shows, independence is the exception; Years after Soviet rule, government still keeps tight grip on broadcasts". The Baltimore Sun: 1A.
^ (August 7 2003) "Russia: TV Channel To Return Equipment To Moscow-Based Broadcaster". BBC Monitoring International Reports. A200308072D-5620-GNW.
^ (July 23 2003) "Last 'Independent' TV Station Shut Down". Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press 55 (25): 1. Translation of: Government Hits The 'Off' Switch Again. -- Yevgeny Kiselyov Doesn't Even Get to Say Goodbye. Kommersant, June 23, 2003, pp. 1, 4.