Ostankino (TV and radio company)

Russian State TV and Radio Company «Ostankino»

Type	Broadcast
Country	Soviet Union (1991)   Russia (1991—2004)
First air date	February 8, 1991;33 years ago (1991-02-08)
Availability	Free-to-air
Founded	February 8, 1991;33 years ago (1991-02-08) [1]
TV stations	Ostankino TV Channel 1 Programme Two Moscow Programme Ostankino TV Channel 4
Radio stations	Radio-1 Mayak Yunost Orfey
Launch date	8 February 1991;33 years ago (1991-02-08)
Dissolved	April 22, 2004;20 years ago (2004-04-22)
Former names	1991: All-Union State TV and Radio Company
Language	Russian
Replaced	Gosteleradio
Replaced by	ORT (Early 1995) VGTRK (Early 1991) RMTRK «Moscow» (Early 1992) NTV (Early 1994) Radio-1 (Early 1996)

Russian State TV and Radio Company «Ostankino» (Russian: Российская государственная телерадиокомпания «Останкино» — formerly All-Union State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company) is the state broadcasting organization that managed part of the state television and radio broadcasting in Russia from February 8, 1991, to October 12, 1995. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [a]}

According to «Блеск и нищета российского ТВ» ("The Splendor and Poverty of Russian TV"), only $87 million or $187 billion rubles out of $82.5 billion was received from advertising at ORT which led to its insolvency. ^{[2] [3]}

Vladislav Listyev headed ORT until his death on 1 March 1995. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

TV programme

• Programme One/Ostankino TV Channel 1 (February 8, 1991—March 31, 1995)
• Programme Two (February 8—December 27, 1991)
• Moscow Programme/Moscow Television Channel (February 8, 1991—June 30, 1992)
• Programme Four/Ostankino TV Channel 4 (February 8, 1991—January 16, 1994)

Radio pragramme

• Radio-1 (February 8, 1991—May 16, 1996)
• Radio Mayak (February 8, 1991—August 8, 1994)
• Radio-2/Yunost (February 8, 1991—May 16, 1996)
• Radio Orfey (February 8, 1991—June 7, 1996)

See also

• Boris Berezovsky
• Mikhail Lesin
• Alexander Lyubimov
• VIDgital
• Video International

Notes

1. According to a Kommersant article dated 29 April 1995, "In the fall of 1992, a commercial directorate was created at Ostankino (ORT), which demanded that the studios enter into contracts with advertisers. The studio directors began to report not to the editor-in-chief of the TV company, but to the commercial one. At the same time, the concept of "currency advertising" ($5000 per minute) was introduced. This only increased the income to the television company's shadow fund, since the studio took money from currency advertisers as from ruble advertisers, but for this service it was necessary to pay extra in cash. The then commercial director of "Ostankino" Nikolai Chernonog did not like this at all, but he was not able to control the situation. It did not change even after accredited advertising agencies appeared at the television company: Premier SV, "Blik Communications", "Aurora", "Lot" and the Mikhail Lesin associated Video International, since television officials still asked "in the pocket" for placing advertising in their studio's program." ^[3] According to a Kommersant article dated 29 April 1995, "At the same time, independent television companies (ViD, RenTV and ATV), which appeared in late 1991 and early 1992, got involved in the television business. Ostankino now had to buy their programs, which were popular with viewers. The price of one program fluctuated between $15 and $30 thousand. In addition, the television technical center (TTC) was separated from Ostankino, and all editorial offices were forced to pay it for equipment rental (State Duma deputy Igor Yakovenko, who investigated the creation of ORT, thinks that this step led to the collapse of Ostankino). They also had to spend money on purchasing feature films. The television company's expenses grew faster than its income, and Ostankino was catastrophically short of state budget subsidies. Then the television company stopped paying the Ministry of Communications for the signal." ^[3] According to a Kommersant article dated 29 April 1995, "Thus, by the end of 1992, television became a place where big money was made. The shadow income of Ostankino was no less than the income of advertising agencies and independent television companies. The salaries of journalists were so low that even under the threat of dismissal they did not refuse to shoot commissioned stories. Control over the first channel by the state became a formality. In fact, it was controlled by commercial structures. The principle was as follows: he who pays the piper calls the tune. This was probably what was called the crisis of the Ostankino television company. ^[3] According to a Kommersant article dated 29 April 1995, "In 1993, the advertising market was essentially divided between Premier SV and Video International. Premier controlled the first, fifth and sixth channels, Video International controlled the second, third and fourth. Among the independent television companies, the most popular programs were ViDa, in which the advertising agency InterVid placed. As a result, ViD got rich: its CEO Alexander Lyubimov took 16th place in the list of the richest people from the former USSR, which was compiled by the Austrian magazine Option in late 1992 and published in the business magazine Most in February 1993. Most called Alexander Lyubimov the first television magnate. Vladislav Listyev was not on this list." ^[3]

References

1. "Программа передач на завтра: Гостелерадио, кажется, продадут народу". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). December 30, 1991.
2. Раззаков, Федор (Razzakov, Fyodor). "Читать книгу: «Блеск и нищета российского ТВ», страница 4" [Read the book: "The Splendor and Poverty of Russian TV", page 4]. ООО «Литрес» (or "literary resource") (litres.ru) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
3. МИХАЙЛИН, МИХАИЛ (MIKHAYLIN, MIKHAIL) (29 April 1995). "Дело АО ОРТ: Тяга к народному" [Case of JSC ORT: Craving for folk]. «Коммерсантъ» (in Russian). Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
4. Челноков, Алексей (Chelnokov, Alexey) (28 April 2000). ""Боцман" российского телевидения" ["Boatswain" of Russian television]. Агентство федеральных расследований (flb.ru) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
5. Газета "Вечерняя Москва" 12.01.2000 «Солнцево-Интернешнл» Версия. Солнцевская преступная группировка, судя по всему, стала реальным владельцем "Видео интернешнл"
6. Олег ЛУРЬЕ, обозреватель "Совершенно секретно", Секреты Миши - агитпропа : о том, как "новые русские" захватили телебашню "ПОКАЖИТЕ МНЕ ЭТОГО МИЛЛИОНЕРА!"
7. Баландина, Александра (Balandina, Alexandra) (1 March 2020). "Надежда умирает последней: кто желал смерти Листьеву" [Hope springs eternal: Who Wanted Vladislav Listyev Dead]. «Газета.Ру» (gazeta.ru). Retrieved 18 September 2024.
8. Spinella, Peter (1 March 2015). "20 Years After Murder of Russian TV Boss Listyev, 'Case Still Not Closed'". Moscow Times (themoscowtimes.com). Retrieved 18 September 2024.
9. Заподинская, Екатерина (Zapodinskaya, Ekaterina) (6 June 1998). "Генпрокуратура допросила Сергея Лисовского" [The Prosecutor General's Office interrogated Sergei Lisovsky]. «Коммерсантъ» (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2014.