Russia’s leading pay-TV operator Tricolor will no longer carry all the channels distributed by Gazprom Media’s Red Media from March 1.
In a statement, it says that it has not been possible to reach an agreement with the copyright holder allowing for the possibility of broadcasting only sports channels without paying for other thematic ones.
Tricolor adds that during negotiations between the two parties it continued to broadcaster all Red Media’s channels despite many of them duplicating services already offered by the operator.
It therefore suggested only carrying Red Media’s sports channels and their HD versions.
The total viewing share of Red Media channels among Tricolor customers in 2019 amounted to only 3%, while the cost of broadcasting them was more than 50% of the total contract price.
Tricolor says it added eight proprietary channels to its offer, six of which are available via satellite, in early February.
It is also negotiating with partners about the launch of new sports channel and an increase in the number of sports events broadcast OTT.
