Murmansk TV channels may get blocked

Some background information:

Murmansk, the city of over 300.000 citizens, watches TV using conventional home antennas and cable connections. Cable provides TV services to over 55.000 families living in Murmansk. The biggest cable TV provider is More-TV that belongs to Murmansk Multiservice Networks (M2S). Besides, M2S is one of the local providers of telephone services and elevators (production, installation, maintenance, etc). The company services about 40000 viewers. Director General of M2S is Yuri Berger (one of his career steps was the position of the Murmansk deputy governor in mid 90s).

There are 4 main Murmansk TV channels that produce news and some thematic programmes. These are GTRK Murman (a state owned company broadcast on federal channel), TV21 (a private company supported by Norilsk Nickel sharing a channel network with Moscow-based STS owned by Swedish Modern Times Group), Blitz (a private company supported by Murmansk Shipping Company and sharing channel network with Moscow-based TNT owned by Gazprom Media), and Arctic TV (private company owned by M2S).

A few weeks ago, M2S in the person of Yuri Berger, “changed his attitudes” towards two local private TV channels, i.e. TV21 and Blitz forcing the latter two to pay to be broadcast by More-TV (M2S). Interviewed by “Novy Vest Kurier”, Berger said: “As we understand it, these TV channels are not Murmansk-made. They are Russia-wide. And judging from the viewers’ comments, these channels are tabloid-oriented and vulgar. I think that we should not broadcast these channels”. M2S proposed a monthly fee of 500.000 RUB (per each) if the channels want to stay aired by More-TV. The two channels in question find this fee “unreasonably oversized”.

Both TV21 and Blitz treat this situation as censorship, reports TV21, while censorship is prohibited in the Russian mass media by both the Constitution and Federal Law # 3 on Mass Media. Besides, this situation could be an attempt to displace the two channels from Murmansk media market to the benefit of Arctic TV (currently – least popular among the Murmansk viewers according to ProfMediaGroup). The officials mostly consider this embarrassing situation as “just about business” and hope for success through further negotiations.

The channels are supposed to start payment to M2S since January 1, 2010, while on the contrary – other Murmansk TV cable providers pay fees to the channels for the right for broadcasting their content.

Source: www.barentsnova.com