Ukraine’s 1+1 fears hostile takeover

Ukrainian commercial channel 1+1 has appealed for assurance from the country’s government that it won’t be the subject of a hostile takeover.

Oleksandr Tkachenko

Oleksandr Tkachenko, general director of 1+1 Media, issued a joint statement alongside other executives from the company to the country’s president Petro Poroshenko saying that they were “deeply concerned and alarmed” about the broadcaster’s future.

Ukraine’s National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine unanimously voted to extend and reauthorise the 1+1 licence on December 15.

However, Tkachenko said he had reason to believe the National Council’s decision would be reversed and control of the TV station would be the subject of a “potential hostile takeover” by a third party.

“We strongly believe that you, as the president, must make a provision for the enforcement of the Ukrainian government’s judgment of December 15, 2016 and, respecting the Ukrainian law, demonstrate to us and society your reverence for the independence of the media,” said the statement.

“We do not understand why, exactly, on the day our analogue licence was to expire – December 29, 2016 – after we had paid our licence fee, we are still facing uncertainty, threatened with cancellation of 1+1 TV’s broadcasting, and the appointment of a new third-party management.”

Others to sign the statement include Serhiy Popov, head of the department of informational broadcasting at 1+1 Media, and Volodymyr Zelensky, head of Kiev-based studio Kvartal-95.

Political events of the past three years have had a dramatic effect on the Ukrainian TV industry, which suffered a sharp drop in its value after the conflict with Russia began in 2014.

This resulted in a ban on Russian programming in Ukraine, which was forced to turn to local production to plug the significant gaps left in schedules.