Digital broadcasting launching cost 2.5 billion rubles in Bashkiria

UFA, 19 November 2018. /Bashinform News Agency, Azat Gizatullin/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/. Digital broadcasting coverage in Bashkiria is 95%. During the four years of the regional digital network construction, 216 TV towers were built. Today the digital broadcasting in the republic was officially started at the Bashkir TV studio. The cost of the transition to digital broadcasting was 2.5 billion rubles. According to the General Director of the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), Andrey Romanchenko, the entire digital network in Bashkiria was built from scratch and all 216 facilities are completely new.

“Now, almost 100% of the population will be able to watch 20 channels in digital quality. The information inequality was completely abandoned in our country”, said Andrey Romanchenko.

The Chairman of the State Assembly of Bashkortostan Konstantin Tolkachev believes that the transition to digital broadcasting will not only improve the quality of television image but also greatly increase the availability of information. According to him, it is important to preserve the republican television channel BST, which should be among the 20 commonly available channels.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Bashinform” JSC Rostislav Murzagulov, answering a question about the future of the Bashkir Satellite TV, noted that the channel would develop and it would have good prospects. According to him, municipal television channels also require support; they should be modernized and transferred to new formats for presenting information, both technically and professionally.

The Bashkir branch of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company switched to digital broadcasting on April 20, 2015, when the new studio-hardware complex Dalet was put into operation. Since April of this year, the regional TV and radio programs have appeared on Russia-1, Russia-24 and Radio Russia channels. A new digital studio equipment unit was installed at Ufa TV Center.

According to the analog television shutdown schedule, the transition to digital broadcasting will be launched from February 11, 2019. The date of its completion is June 10. After the transition to digital broadcasting, the Russians almost all over the country will be able to watch 20 channels in high quality for free: Channel One, Russia-1, Match TV, NTV, Petersburg-5 channel, Russia-Culture, Russia-24, Karusel, OTR, TV Center-Moscow, REN TV, Spas, STS, Domashny, TV-3, Friday, Zvezda, Mir, TNT, Muz-TV and three more radio channels - Vesti FM, Radio Russia, Radio Mayak.

Read more about the peculiarities of the transition of federal TV channels from analog to digital broadcasting in the special project by the Bashinform News Agency.