The State Duma Committee on Information Policy has recommended on its first reading a law on choosing a single content provider of 20 publicly available TV channels for internet sites.
Kommersant reports that several organisations can be selected for such a role, including the national transmission company RTRS and online platform Vitrina TV, founded by National Media Group (NMG) two years ago.
It adds that the second reading of the law will firm up the number of organisations that can take on such a role and the criteria for their selection.
It has already been decided that national TV channels will be allowed to continue broadcasting on their own sites, registered as mass media.
Furthermore, obtaining the status of a content provider will require organisations to secure agreements with at least one third of must-carry public channels, rather than the previous two-thirds.