The Ukrainian DTT platform Xtra TV and OTT service Oll.tv, both of which were operated by Media Group Ukraine (MGU), have ceased operations.
Similar statements about the closures appear on their sites. In the case of Xtra TV’s, it says: “On July 22, at 11 p.m., the satellite television operator Xtra TV is forced to suspend the broadcast of TV channels and the provision of services to subscribers in connection with the entry into force of the discriminatory law “On the prevention of threats to national security related to the excessive influence of persons who have significant economic and political weight in public life (oligarchs)”.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, earlier this month the Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov decided to withdraw his company SCM’s investment from the country’s media industry.
His biggest investment was in Media Group Ukraine (MGU), one of the country’s four leading media groups.
Akhmetov cited a new law against oligarchs as the reason for his action. MGU’s TV channel licences were then returned to the state.
Although Xtra TV and Oll.TV were expected to continue operating, the regulator National Council annulled Xtra TV’s licence on July 21.
