The media holding offers content service providers a token fee for the channels’ signal.
The StarLightMedia, Viktor Pinchuk’s media group, offered large and small providers a fee of UAH 1 thousand for rebroadcasting its six channels, as reported by Telekritika.
We shall recall that the media holding incorporates TV channels like ICTV, M1 and M2, STB, QTV and Novyi Kanal.
According to Fedor Grechaninov, Strategic Development Director at the StarLightMedia, today this amount is the same for both large and small operators. In the future, the media group intends to charge a fee for rebroadcasting its TV channels depending on the number of provider’s subscribers.
According to Fedor Grechaninov, the rebroadcasting earnings should cover 10-25% of the broadcaster’s costs.
A barrier for the StarLightMedia is just a “must carry” channels, which guarantee to all TV viewers an easy access to the package of digital terrestrial channels. But, according to Grechaninov, the legislation regarding the number of TV channels incorporated in the “must carry” requires amendments; i.e. only national and regional TV channels should be distributed at no charge and free, as well as public broadcasters.
As Mediasat reported before, during the conference Pay TV in Ukraine in 2015, held in the framework of the forum KIEV MEDIA WEEK 2015, Vladimir Borodyansky, the President of the Media Group, outlined plans for transiting to the signal coding of TV channels within the StarLightMedia Group.
Mr. Grechaninov also informs that providers, enjoying the contracts already concluded with the StarLightMedia, will receive a considerable annual discount from the time when the media group moves to a new model of monetization of its content.
