Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network general director Gennady Sklyar
Photo: Mikhail Razuvaev
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Russian Network Enters Transdniestria
The Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network monopoly has officially confirmed that it intends to acquire the Transdniestrian Radio and Television Center, which was once the base for Soviet radio broadcasting in the entire Western hemisphere. An RTRBN representative said that the broadcast center will permit it to enter the Moldovan, Transdniestrian and regional Ukrainian markets.
In the 1990s, the broadcast center was one of the most powerful in Europe. Its broadcasts were heard in all European countries, the United States, Canada and Cuba. It was also used to jam such stations as the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. Ice buildup on its equipment in 2000 caused it to lose about 20 percent of its broadcast capacity.
The tender for the center will take place on October 2. The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications of the unrecognized Republic of Transdniestria has set a price of $3.31 million on it. The winner of the tender is will be obliged to invest $1.02 million in the center by 2011 and increase the center's annual receipts to $5.8 million. The other competitor in the tender will be the Russian-Tajik joint venture Eurasian Teleradiocom, which has no experience broadcasting in Russia, Moldova or Transdniestria.
Analysts note that the acquisition of the broadcast center will pay back its investment through government contracts. The center is expected to be used to rebroadcast Russian television programming. The tender for the broadcaster was called illegal by Chisinau.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 01, 2007
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