Eutelsat says it will “no longer be involved” in the transmission of three Russian channels proscribed by the French media regulator Arcom.
In a short statement, which did not name the channels directly, Eutelsat said it would cease broadcasting Rossiya 1, Perviy Kanal and NTV. On Wednesday Arcom banned the channels due to their coverage of the Ukraine war including “repeated incitement to hatred and violence and numerous shortcomings to honesty of information.”
In its statement, the Paris-based satellite operator said: “Eutelsat acknowledges the new decision issued this afternoon by Arcom, the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication.
“Eutelsat confirms that according to its policy of systematically implementing Arcom’s decisions, it will no longer be involved in the broadcasting of the three sanctioned channels within the prescribed time frame.”
Like Eutelsat, which had rejected repeated calls to break its ties with Russia, Arcom had also come under pressure. The successor to the CSA only acted after Reporters Without Borders filed a lawsuit against it for failing to act on the issue.
In contrast, Kremlin-backed news channel Russia Today was removed from SES satellites on March 1, but that too came as a result of regulatory action, this time by the European Union.
