There is something unique about the way the war in Ukraine is being covered by several media outlets in Central and Eastern Europe.
Put simply, alongside a widespread ban on Russian channels, they are making Ukrainian channels available to their audiences.
Take Poland, for instance. A number of operators including Polsat Box, UPC Polska, Orange, Netia, Toya and Play have added the channel Ukraina 24 to their line-up, in some instances as part of their cheapest packages and in others as a free-to view service.
Meanwhile, the public broadcaster TVP is offering the Ukrainian public broadcaster’s first channel UA1 as a terrestrial service, accessible via HbbTV thanks to cooperation with the Polish national transmission company Emitel. Mindful of the huge number of refugees fleeing the war, it has also introduced programming in Ukrainian for children on its kids channel TVP ABC, available via internet apps and HbbTV. There is, in addition, a radio station named RMF Ukraina now serving refugees, with more likely to follow.
A number of operators in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are also offering their viewers Ukraina 24, UA1 and in some instances also 1+1 International. They include Vodafone, Antik Telecom, Sledovanie TV, O2, Satro and Lepsia TV.
In the Baltics, the Lithuanian regulator LRTK has issued a recommendation for telecom operators to add Ukrainian channels, including 1+1, 2+2, Ukraina, ICTV, STB and Inter, to their offers. Furthermore, the pan-Baltic TV3 Group has begun to rebroadcast Ukraina 24, in English, on its Go3, Home3 and TV Play platforms in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
These developments have come alongside the four leading media groups in Ukraine – 1+1 Media, StarLightMedia, Media Group Ukraine and Inter Media Group – working together to make the international community aware of the war. They have also broadcast a single newscast since February 26, taking turns to provide uninterrupted information to their viewers.
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