The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications (Roskomnadzor) did not find any violations in the company’s operation
In the course of reinspection of the pay-TV operator Tricolor TV regarding the failure to meet its obligations of broadcasting free TV channels, there were no violations found out. According to the CNews edition, the Roskomnadzor obligated the company last year to renew broadcasting free TV channels under the previous terms or to remedy the violation by other legal means. The company chose the second option by changing its contracts with broadcasters.
According to Alexei Kholodov, CEO at the “National Satellite Company”, which owns the brand Tricolor TV, the Roskomnadzor made sure during its reinspection that the violations were remedied and confined itself to small penalties. We shall recall that the kernel of the claim was the reduced number of TV channels that the Tricolor TV had to broadcast for free, according to the Russian law.
The number of free TV channels was to be completed by the ones of the first and second multiplexes. At the same time, the subscribers were allowed to be charged just for using telecom line. And the company provided access to free channels (package “Bazovy” (Basic)) upon paying the package “Ediny” (Integral). The package “Basic” actually incorporates the NTV, the “Channel One” and another 8 TV channels broadcasting without encoding, including, for example, the “Infochannel” and the TV channel “Soyuz” (Union) belonging to the Diocese of Yekaterinburg.
The similar policy of restricting free and compulsory content is also pursued by other providers. For instance, the operator “Orion Express” broadcasting under the brand “Telecarta” introduced an additional fee for servicing telecom line; the “NTV – Plus” removed from its services the package “Standard” that incorporated free public terrestrial TV channels.
