| 2×2 | |
|---|---|
| Launched | November 2, 1989 |
| Owned by | Prof-Media |
| Picture format | 4:3 (576i, SDTV) |
| Audience share | 1,3% (August 2008, TNS Russia[1]) |
| Slogan | аСоциальная сеть (antiSocial network) |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian, English |
| Broadcast area | Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Saint Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Voronezh, Miass (terrestrial) Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Georgia (cable networks) |
| Website | http://2x2tv.ru |
| Availability | |
| Cable | |
| Natsionalnye Kabelnye Seti | Channel 21 |
2×2 (Russian: Дважды два, Dvazhdy dva) is Russia's oldest private entertainment TV channel. Since 2007 it specializes in animated series.
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Founded in 1989 and first aired on September 27, 1990, 2×2 became the first commercial television in the Soviet Union.[2]
Initially, 2×2 broadcast half-hour advertisement blocks, music clips and animations only, but by 1993 the channel began to air news programs. In 1993 the administration of 2×2 signed a contract with MTV Europe to translate some programs. There was a peak of popularity in 1994-1995, but the channel was closed down in 1997.
2×2 returned to the airwaves on November 11, 2007. Since then, the channel specialized on adult-oriented cartoon series, most of them American and Japanese programs. Only in 2009 it started broadcasting some live-action material as well.
In February 2008 the Russian Media Culture Protection Department (Rossvyazohrankultura), a regulatory body for TV in Russia, issued warnings about Happy Tree Friends and The Adventures of Big Jeff, claiming that the shows "promote violence and brutality, harm the psychic health and moral development of children, attack the social morality; all of this being a violation of license agreement".[3] The department warned 2×2, which broadcast the shows, to remove them in order to avoid legal issues.
Later that year, activists of the Russian Pentecostalist Church criticized 2×2 for airing South Park and The Simpsons.[4] Their appeal to close 2×2 was rejected by the Russian media officials. On September 24, 2008 the channel's licence was extended for additional 5 years.[5]
In July 2009 2×2 cut a scene from the episode "Free Willzyx" of South Park which depicted Vladimir Putin as "a greedy and desperate leader", prompting "criticism and furious discussion on Russia blogs".[6]
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