The terrestrial licences awarded to three Viacom channels in Russia last month have disappeared from Roskomnadzor’s register.
According to RBC and AKTR, Elena Balmont, the general director of Viacom International Media Network’s Russian office, initially confirmed the award of the licences in early December 2017.
Although the press service of Roskomnadzor then said that the licences had been issued, information on them disappeared from the register by mid-December and Viacom has since failed to provide an explanation as to why this happened.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, the award of the licences to Nickelodeon, Paramount Comedy and VH1 Europe, though initially for only location – the city of Slvyansk na Kubani – was seen as a major breakthrough for Viacom as the channels would no longer be subject to restrictions on advertising imposed on pay-TV services in 2015.
In order to comply with ownership rules, Viacom’s operation in Russia is currently backed by the Renova manager Maxim Mayorz (80%), with the remainder held by Viacom (19%) and individuals (1%).