Rustem Khamitov spoke in support of municipal TV channels

UFA, 5 September 2018. /Bashinform News Agency, Gulfiya Akulova/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/. Yesterday, within the framework of the Open Educational Media Forum organized by the United Russia party in Ufa, the Head of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov spoke in support of municipal television channels. Experts from the All-Russian People's Front, along with representatives of the National Association of Broadcasters, the Association of City Broadcasters, executive authorities and journalists, discussed the strategy for the regional TV channels development.

One of the main issues discussed was the topic of disabling analog broadcasting. A gradual transition to digital terrestrial television and reduction of analog broadcasting will begin in Russia in January 2019. The state ceases to subsidize television channels for the distribution of the signal in cities with a population of less than 100 thousand people. This applies to public channels. The network of the first and second multiplex will be put into operation at the end of 2018.

In this regard, the Association of City Broadcasters appealed to the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov with a request to support the municipal television.

Rustem Khamitov expressed his readiness to support municipal TV channels at the regional level, supported the All-Russian People's Front legislative initiative on assigning the 22nd button to municipal TV channels in the networks of cable operators and expressed the idea of including regional and municipal TV channels in one of the existing multiplexes.

"We will continue on assigning the 22nd button for municipal channels in the cable television operators networks. I think that the new convocation of the State Assembly - the Kurultay of the republic - should submit a legislative initiative to the State Duma of the Russian Federation to include at least one municipal TV channel in the existing digital multiplexes or to create a new third digital multiplex for these purposes", Rustem Khamitov noted.

Also, the head of the region marked an innovation - broadcasting matches of HC "Salavat Yulaev" in the Bashkir language on the "Kuray" channel, which is a part of the "Bashkortostan" TV and Radio holding.

Earlier, the agency published a longread about the features of the transition of the federal channels from analog to digital television broadcasting.