A proposed new Ukrainian law on TV and telecommunications could prove detrimental to the country’s cable industry.
AKTR and Kyiv Post report that the legislation, which had its first reading in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) last month, has a requirement for cable operators to include all Ukrainian analogue channels – currently believed to number up to 100 – in their offers.
At present, operators include 15-18 Ukrainian channels, some national and others local, in their basic packages. If required to carry more such services, they would have to drop popular international channels, such as the BBC, CNN and Eurosport, which could be detrimental to the cable industry.
However, some industry sources believe it would be a good move as analogue networks are designed to carry up to 100 channels and Ukrainian services have better viewing figures than foreign ones.