34K 5 11 min.
Entertainment TV and online platforms, which gained audiences amid self-isolation, risk suffering from the crisis in the advertising market and facing a shortage of content, investments in which have to be frozen. How STS Media (channels STS, Domashny, Che, etc.) is going to survive the next crisis and why investments from Internet platforms create overheating in the production of TV series, the holding’s general director Vyacheslav Murugov told Kommersant .
Photo: Alexander Miridonov, Kommersant
Photo: Alexander Miridonov, Kommersant
— How does television cope with the pandemic?
“When you watch entire industries collapse, you realize that television is in a good situation. From a viewing point of view, it only won. It’s strange to brag about something now, but a miracle happened: young people aged 4-25 returned, because of which Total TVR (general TV rating - “Kommersant”
) and fell. Due to these viewers, viewing increased by more than 30%.
— In previous crises, TV channels reduced purchase prices for content and the number of premieres, and, as a result, interest in TV fell somewhat. Will it be the same this time?
- Entertainment TV has an advantage that helped in 2008 and 2014 - we have repeatable content.
Even in the best of times, grids were built on numerous repeats during the day.
Accordingly, it is necessary to invest in formats that can be repeated, sketch-coms and sitcoms, while cross-cutting stories are more suitable for online platforms. One-time experiments, limited series (series with a limited number of episodes. — “Kommersant”
),—the effort is the same, but the product will work maybe once, and you still have to live to see another.
— Did CTS Media stop filming due to the pandemic?
— A number of shows had to be stopped. Spring and summer are the height of the filming process on any channel, and we hope that filming will resume by mid-to-late summer. This is a minor issue as there is an opportunity to revise programming for the fall. The rest lies in the economic zone. We don’t understand what awaits us in the fall, the whole country and the world.
— What is your plan of action?
— Some premieres will be moved to the fall, the marketing campaign will be reconsidered. We met the crisis in not the worst positions both in ratings and in market share. Last year ended well: the TV advertising market decreased by 6%, while CTS Media's revenue increased. But there is a period of uncertainty ahead of us.
— If you curtail production now, will the existing content last long?
- For a year. And we think that everything will be over within a year. We are already releasing shows filmed under conditions of self-isolation - new episodes of “Cinema in Details”, “Horns of the House”. We will learn to shoot in any conditions, we will adapt. We are looking for options to complete work on the series that were supposed to go into production this spring.
— How did the company review costs?
Setting up the STS digital TV channel on Samsung TVs
Setting up the STS digital TV channel on branded TVs
1. In order to set up digital TV channels on the vast majority of Samsung models, press the “” (“Menu”) button on the remote control, the TV menu will open in which you will need to select the “Channel” section (Satellite dish icon). In the “Antenna” tab, specify the connection type “Cable”. Go to the “Country” tab and select the “Other” option. The TV will ask for a pin code, if you have not changed it, then enter 0000.
2. Go to “Auto Configuration”
Signal source: Cable,
You choose the type of channels at your discretion; you can find only digital channels, or digital + analog.
Search mode: Fast
Frequency: 386000 KHz Modulation: 256 QAM
Transfer rate: 6750 KS/s
Click Search.
4. As a result of the search, you should find 110 television and 8 radio channels*.
*In the public domain - STS, Euronews and Dialog TV channels. To open other channels you need to purchase a CAM module and an access card.
Now you can fully enjoy the capabilities of your TV by watching the STS channel in high definition. Enjoy watching STS and bright emotions!
Source
"CTC Media" discusses the production of new seasons of "Kitchen"
“It was, to put it mildly, not an easy task. We had to create a creative team virtually from scratch. The management of the STS channel was almost completely updated, and serious changes took place in the holding. New producers arrived and the marketing team strengthened. Our regular partner Art Pictures Vision gave birth to a sequel to “Kitchen”; the NMG Studio included the companies Keystone Production, AMiK, Star Media, Metrafilms.
— Several producers came to you from TNT: Sergey Svetlakov and Alexander Nezlobin two years ago, then Mikhail Galustyan. Are people from another channel in demand by your audience?
— This is an incredibly cool acquisition in terms of faces and creativity. When people with good karma, energy, and creativity get together for brainstorming sessions and hold some kind of reprise, we don’t isolate who exactly said what, because everyone created this atmosphere. Together, Svetlakov, Nezlobin and Galustyan changed the perception of the audience. Both people and projects produced results together, I value everyone very much.
— Based on last year’s results, STS’s most successful project is “Fort Boyard,” which is filmed in France. Will its sequel be released in the fall?
— I can’t say: it’s unclear when France will open.
— Do you plan to revive other projects and formats from the 1990s and 2000s?
— The show must be in demand. It’s not like let’s urgently repeat “The White Parrot.” There are few eternal formats. For example, in drama there is the story of Cinderella, which works at all times. But in our country, people’s tastes are changing quickly, maybe that’s why channel managers are so radically moving away from previous formats and forgetting them. It is still important to open new shows.
— Advertising revenues on TV have decreased significantly. Advertisers are holding back money for already released campaigns and moving advertising to the fall. Does CTC Media feel this?
Frequencies of the STS and STS Internatoonal channels on satellites
The free STS international channel in good quality appeared in open form on the Eutelsat Hot Bird 13.0°E satellite! Now all owners of a satellite television set without a subscription fee have the opportunity to watch the wonderful STS entertainment channel for free, since it is even available on Hotbird! The STS international TV channel has long earned a reputation as a favorite among everyone who wants to have a good time in front of the TV. And this is well deserved, because the broadcast of this wonderful channel consists of entertaining comedy programs, Russian and foreign TV series, as well as feature films.
Now you won’t be able to miss a single new episode of “Give Youth”, “Voronins”, The Eighties”, “6 Frames”, “The Diary of Doctor Zaitseva”, “Closed School”, “Winx”, “Ural Dumplings” and other favorite series, cartoons and programs on the STS international TV channel from the hotbird.
To tune into the STS International TV channel, your antenna must be configured to receive one of the satellites in the table. If the dish is installed, simply scan the receiver's frequency in accordance with the parameters indicated below in the table with characteristics, and the STS International TV channel will appear at the end of the channel list of your satellite tuner:
The address of the official website of the STS TV channel is: www.ctc.ru, where you can find the TV program for the week and learn about all the changes and news.
The STS channel can also be watched on 90 degrees, and on the satellite 75 degrees ABS 2.
You can watch the STS satellite TV channel for free by ordering the service installation of satellite dishes in Odessa from the Gagarin+ company by calling (048)7013633
Source
How to enter a new frequency, transponder and scan for new satellite channels
In most cases, we go to the menu - installations or satellite settings.
First of all, we turn on the disk settings and select the desired port for a specific satellite.
You can look at the disk itself, near the antenna, or select it experimentally - the signal and quality (usually two bars at the bottom) in this case should become colored.
How to enter a new frequency - transponder into a satellite receiver?
This is how we set up the disks - let's move on to setting the frequencies. This is usually done by colored buttons or by the headings of another menu. Most receiver software provides the ability to create a new transponder, frequencies, by pressing a certain button. If this is not the case, then you can safely edit an unnecessary or outdated frequency that does not accept, also by pressing the button described in the menu. Enter the required parameters, save and scan. If you look closely, scanning a certain frequency will not be difficult. Otherwise, you can scan the entire satellite, but that's okay; new channels will be available at the end of the general list of channels from all satellites.
In addition to the frequency itself, you will need to indicate the stream speed (in some receivers the stream itself is DVB-S or DVB-S2), polarity - V or H (vertical, horizontal) and sometimes FEC - 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5 /6, etc.
We look for frequencies here or ask friends.
Afterwards we simply scan, sort (if necessary) and enjoy watching.
As already mentioned, new channels found will appear at the end of the general list of channels (usually all satellites).
What is multiplex
Multiplex is a package of digital TV channels of the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS-1), broadcast by one transmitter. Initially it included 10 on-air channels (the first multiplex):
- First (formerly ORT).
- Russia 1.
- Russia 24.
- NTV.
- Channel 5.
- Russia-K (formerly the “Culture” channel).
- Carousel.
- OTR.
- TV Center (formerly TVC).
- Match TV.
Much later, a second multiplex appeared, including an additional 10 channels:
The television channels of both multiplexes are mandatory and publicly available, subject to distribution in all broadcast media without charging consumers for the right to view.
Where and how to find out the broadcast frequency for my area
You need to find out the frequency of digital broadcasting in the case when, during an automatic search, one of the multiplexes was simply not detected, and you need to manually tune the channels.
There are several options for obtaining data for manual configuration of multiplexes:
- contact the store or company where the equipment was purchased;
- look at the contract for connecting digital TV;
- go to the digital television website.
Through the service https://karta.rtrs.rf/ you can find out the frequency of digital broadcasting of the tower serving a specific house.
It is enough to enter your home address into the search bar on the website, and the map will display information about the nearest radio and television transmitting center and its broadcast frequency.
Klim Shipenko will work with the producers of “Slave” for another three years
— Internet platforms often require more effort and investment, because these are startups, for which the environment and business model have not yet been formed. For example, an incredibly high-concept project with a cast and an A-list director may not be very economically profitable on its own, but in terms of marketing impact and traffic, the economics of a hit start to work. But the creative content market has grown significantly due to platforms that threw in huge amounts of money that were completely unjustified at the time. The current crisis is a test of the business models that these companies had. A year ago, deals with directors could become an unbearable burden for those who entered into them.
— What business model for online video services seems optimal now?
— I often hear: they are ready to watch the series, but they are not ready to subscribe for this. Today, no single platform meets the viewer’s appetite: to be happy, you need to subscribe to everything. There must be a flexible content distribution model that combines AVOD (viewing with advertising. — “Kommersant”
), SVOD (viewing by subscription. —
“Kommersant”
), TVOD (film rental. —
“Kommersant”
).
At the same time, no one knows each other’s economics, only marketing works: who spoke better about themselves. It is incorrect to analyze success based on marketing activities, and we do not know the real economics of the platforms.
Sometimes people happily tell the audience about their shares, and the total comes out to something like 146%.
Now, if you add up the boasting of all the services, it turns out that all our platforms are watched by 110 million people. But that's not true. It would be right to make the market more transparent, to launch a system similar to the UAIS in cinema.
— Why do media holdings play this blind game if the market is opaque and the prospects for return on investment are unclear?
“You have to play it, otherwise you might end up left out.” The television business must open new contacts with the audience, this is the most important thing, everyone is fighting for them. But it is impossible to say now that platforms are an investment project and in this horror everything must be collapsed. On the contrary, we need to act and develop alternative viewing, because television is evolving, and the virus is only accelerating this process.
— Is NMG Studio, which you head, changing its plans for film production? How many projects did you have on your desk before the pandemic, what happens to them?
— Projects that were in the filming process have been suspended. In a difficult situation, we are working to maintain investments in development in all areas, including cinema, series for TV and the online environment, animation projects, and are finishing post-production on a number of premieres, including for more.tv.
— What effect do you expect from the bill obliging video services to work with a single TV content provider, Vitrina TV? They are against having to work through the player of one company.
Setting up DVB-T2 digital channels
Depending on the TV model, you can connect digital TV using a direct cable connection or using a special set-top box. To transmit high-resolution images, the signal is pre-encoded into the DVB-T2 format. Next comes channel setup, which can be done either manually or automatically. Below we will look at how to set up the first multiplex, and then the second.
Subscribe to NTV-PLUS online television and watch your favorite channels in high quality on any device: computer, TV, smartphone or tablet.
Manually
To manually tune channels, you need to know the numbers of both packages with channels.
- We go to the TV settings and in the section for editing TV channels, select the “Manual tuning” item.
- Next, open the settings for digital channels and click on the “Create” button.
- Enter the number of the first multiplex in the appropriate line and click “Search”.
- The found channels will be automatically saved - a pop-up window will notify you about this on the TV screen.
Please note that each TV has its own interface. The menu appearance and item names may vary.
Watch your favorite movies and TV series on any device thanks to More TV for only 299 rubles per month. Don't miss out on your 7 days FREE subscription!
You can install a second multiplex using the same method. If the signal is bad, it is worth re-tuning the TV channels, while changing the frequency indicator in the search window.
Automatically
To start automatic digital TV setup, you need to follow a few simple steps:
- In the TV settings menu, go to the “Channels” section.
- We select the TV signal reception mode and start auto-tuning by pressing the corresponding button.
Next, the process of searching for available analogue and digital channels will begin. The result will be displayed on the screen.
On Smart TV, automatic setup is as easy as on regular TVs.
- Go to the TV settings menu, select “Channels” - “Auto search”.
- We set the input signal source, digital TV provider.
- We set the frequency range for scanning - from 274,000 to 770,000 MHz. Network ID - Auto.
- Select search parameters and start searching for channels.
Together with TV channels, the TV can find and tune in several radio stations.
The structure of NMG and STS concluded the largest deal with Hollywood majors
I heard this canard that supposedly major content is expensive. Such an assessment is unprofessional. It’s not so important how much the content costs, what’s more important is how effectively it works. If from the point of view of margins and ratings it is beneficial to us, it is economically feasible, because it allows us to achieve champion financial indicators (CTC Media does not disclose them. - “Kommersant”
).
However, in 2021 we grew through our own series and shows. The 2021 film lineup gave virtually no growth to the audience, and self-produced content gave an increase of 30% or more, which allowed us to take first place in our audience 10–45 years old and the audience 14–44 years old (TNT sells advertising according to it.— “Ъ”
).
— So your network did not become more expensive with the acquisition of the largest package of foreign films?
— Despite certain myths, it is cost-effective and is a safety net. Having a film package, we can be flexible in terms of premieres. For example, entering summer after May: we can afford to shift the series lines to autumn. We had big plans for spring and autumn, but it’s okay, plans can wait, we have something to cover.
— The terms of deals with film majors are not endless. Will they be renewed under new conditions?
— All our deals with majors are long-term. Art Pictures Distribution, which purchases content for the entire NMG, is, of course, now discussing a balanced solution for us and partners, taking into account the situation.
— What will STS show in the summer?
— Like almost all channels, in the summer we go into repetitions of our own content. Hits from the golden collection, our large library of TV series and movies. If the crisis and pandemic had happened a couple of years ago, it would have been extremely painful for STS. Now we have approached the pandemic with a different quality of team, more people. Over the past couple of years, we have managed to greatly improve the situation with content sources and reassemble the team.
— How did STS cope with the departure of the supplier of “Kitchen” and other TV series Yellow, Black & White to competitors? Who makes content for you now?
Third multiplex frequency
In January 2015, broadcasting of the third multiplex began in trial mode from the Moscow Ostankino TV tower. To watch more than 40 channels for free in good quality, just change the TV settings:
- operating frequency - 578 MHz;
- TVK number - 34;
- standard - DVB-T2.
However, it is worth considering that channels that have received a broadcast license work alternately with a certain schedule: each has its own broadcast time.
Answers to user questions
We have selected several popular questions from users regarding setting up DVB T2 digital channels and prepared answers to them.
What frequency does Channel One broadcast on?
The television broadcasts on the first television channel with a frequency of 49.75 MHz.
How to set up TNT on digital television
You can search for a channel by the frequency on which it broadcasts. For TNT it is 583.25. You need to go to the channel settings, select manual search and enter the known channel data, or enter the number 498 - this is the frequency of the second multiplex, which includes TNT.
"STS Media"
Company profile
The StoryFirst Communications holding was founded in 1989 by American Peter Gervey.
The company began television broadcasting in 1994, broadcasting programs from a station in St. Petersburg to a number of Russian cities. In 1996, the national television channel STS was launched, broadcasting via satellite from Moscow. In 2004, in preparation for the IPO, the holding was renamed CTC Media. Today the holding manages five television channels in Russia: STS, Domashny, Che!, STS Love and CTC Kids, Channel 31 in Kazakhstan and the international version of the Peretz channel. STS is also available in the CIS countries, the Baltic states and other European countries, North America, Georgia, Israel, the UAE, Mongolia, and Australia. CTC Media also owns a number of digital entertainment media assets: videomore.ru, ctc.ru, domashniy.ru, chetv.ru, ctclove.ru, Caramba TV. The company also owns all rights to the Three Cats brand. The owners of the company since 2021 are the National Media Group and VTB Bank. The company's equity capital as of March 2020 is estimated at 4.2 billion rubles, net profit - 715 million rubles.
New settings for STS
STS and Domashny switch to 16:9
The STS and Domashny television channels will switch to the 16:9 broadcast format, the STS Media media holding reported.
The format change will take place on February 1, 2021.
It is worth noting that despite broadcasting in the usual 4:3 format with standard 576i quality on satellite, cable, IPTV and airwaves, the STS TV channel is included in the TOP-5 most rated channels:
Moreover, other channels that have long switched to 16:9 and have HD versions have much lower ratings: Which once again confirms the rule - the content is important, not the external form.
If the content is of little interest to anyone, then even 4K will not save you.
The rating is the attention of the viewer, and therefore of the advertiser who pays for advertising on this channel.
And with this money it becomes possible to purchase and produce high-quality content.
Those. appears - positive feedback.
And vice versa: there is no interest among viewers > few advertisers > lack of money - there is no opportunity to purchase and produce high-quality and interesting content. Those. - negative feedback.
The example of STS clearly shows that the absence of 16:9 HD does not in any way affect the high rating.
At the same time, switching to 16:9, HD, etc. is a significant expense that does not pay off. Only expenses.
Broadcasting in HD or even 4K format alone will not make the channel more interesting. The main thing is content.
What is very clearly visible on the Internet: if a blogger is interesting, there will be millions of views with hundreds of thousands and even millions of subscribers.
But if it’s not interesting, then even if it’s filmed in 4K, there will be few views and subscribers and there will be no advertisers.
The laws of maintaining audience interest work - in any environment.
Let us remind you that in federal multiplexes the last TV channel in the usual 4:3 format is Spas.
Addition from user Frame, 02/07/2019:
A message came from technical support of the STS channel that:
“The full transition to the 16:9 format is planned for October 2019, a new technological complex will be put into operation, and until then there will be black porridge in the signal on the screen - this is a feature of our transition to widescreen mode.”
Local advertising - displays in full screen, because the federal signal is replaced by splicers.
Source
How the pandemic has affected film and television production
— Financial discipline is strict. Clearly, there are no business trips. Be stricter in production budgets. We rely on proven companies; purchase prices remain at the same level. But we are only at the beginning of the journey. In the most difficult situations, it is possible to go into replays, use cinema and wait out this situation. The main thing is not to stop development. Money continues to be invested into scripts and the development of new ideas. We will hold off on frank experiments. But the crisis became a catalyst for ideas, new formats appeared or evolved, for example screenlife (a format in which the action takes place on a computer or smartphone screen. — “Kommersant”
). Previously, it seemed that the Internet gave a head start in terms of mobility and poor content. Now, it turns out, television is able to react to the new reality quickly, discarding snobbery, and can communicate with the audience at the speed of the Internet.
— Thanks to expensive films from Hollywood majors, which STS has, but TNT does not, STS has surpassed its competitor in terms of young audiences for the first time in nine years. How economically feasible is winning this race?
— A strange way to pose the question. When one channel outperforms another, it is always due to the chosen strategy. All these nine years, STS has shown the same films, in the same volumes as now. In 2017, TNT abandoned major content and relied on other projects, which it publicly stated. They refused, according to them, because their cinema did not work on the network the way it did, in particular, on STS. Neither in terms of ratings, nor in terms of economic efficiency. Well, it works effectively for us - why? Their refusal gave the opportunity to the National Media Group (NMG; controls STS Media, REN TV, etc. - Kommersant)
) deploy the strategy to the entire group. Not only STS won, but also REN TV.
HOW TO FIND US?
Let us remind you that, according to the laws “On Communications” and “On the Mass Media”, the first 20 TV channels (which includes STS) are all-Russian, accepted from RTRS and distributed by all television operators without making any changes (in content and serial number). Those. everything related to regional broadcasting is included in this top twenty.
Therefore, now the STS channel is present in two forms - “pure signal” and “with a regional partner” - the STS/TV7 channel.
If you are not connected to the networks of television operators, but watch TV through a simple terrestrial antenna, then no changes have occurred in the list of your channels - STS/TV7 in analogue broadcasting is broadcast on the 7th button.
Advertising budgets are being quarantined
— In the first quarter, the National Advertising Alliance showed good results. We don’t know what will happen next, but in any case, the economy will need to be restored, people need to know what to buy from whom. In such a situation, you can manually adjust the cost and quality of the mesh. Let's see what strategy other channels choose.
— What other strategies could there be?
— The simplest thing is to go into replays until the end of the year and spend nothing. Or halve the number of premiere hours. Maybe the more expensive movies within the movie package will be distributed next year. Competitors are not idiots either, they are in the same situation. That's what management is for, to make decisions. Now is the time for unexpected solutions. For example, a collaboration between TV channels and online platforms. Our main Internet partner is more.tv (part of NMG. — “Kommersant”
), but we are also talking with other players, ivi and Okko, about joint projects. The premiere of our film “Sputnik” has been moved to online platforms.
— The situation with “Sputnik” is special: the budget is less than 200 million rubles, and not 950 million, like, for example, “Invasion” by the same creators, the film was subsidized three times by the Cinema Fund, so the producers are insured against serious losses. Other Russian producers simply cannot afford to release films on the Internet.
— All the major hits of recent years are released with the support of the Cinema Fund, but this money is not enough, and private investors invest. Such is the economics of a movie hit in Russia. By starting rental online, we have created a precedent. This is a forced experiment, and Sputnik is the perfect film for it. If the economy allows, then other producers may follow us. But we do not encourage everyone to go online. We support the efforts of the Association of Film and TV Producers and the Ministry of Culture to support the cinema industry, which is in ruins. On the other hand, manufacturing companies find themselves in a difficult situation.
Cinema chains have incurred significant debts for New Year's releases, which have nothing to do with the coronavirus.
That is, the networks took the money of the copyright holders and spent it for their own purposes, depriving many production companies of their livelihoods.
— All Internet platforms claim an influx of audience while they show content for free in anticipation of future subscriber growth. But people’s incomes are declining; they are unlikely to pay for five subscriptions at once. How will these services share one viewer?
— Of course, there are more players than needed. I don’t rule out that more will appear. Now the platforms have opened their doors for free, and people are pouring in. But once the crisis and the self-isolation regime end, the audience may also leave. Business indicators will come to the fore, because business is not measured by spectacular marketing events and hype. The content that the Facebook audience enjoys will have to be turned towards a mass audience. Perhaps someone will buy someone. Some services may collapse. Platforms such as more.tv, Premier, Okko, Kinopoisk HD have a better chance of going through a difficult period, since they are part of larger ecosystems and have a more stable economy. The rest need to look for their own solutions. Content is becoming obsolete; people who are able to produce it on-line are important.
— Will more.tv soon have original projects?
— Original content on more.tv has been released and is still being released. For example, “Difficult Teenagers”, the same “Sputnik”. Another thing is that in the spring and summer there was supposed to be a massive launch of production for more.tv, and for obvious reasons we are shifting it. Before the pandemic, more.tv had plans to release seven premieres this year, ten to twelve next year, thus achieving one premiere per month. The pandemic situation is affecting these plans. There are several projects at different stages of production: “Chicks” with Irina Gorbacheva, Fyodor Bondarchuk’s first directorial series “Psycho,” Roman Prygunov’s series “Happy End.” Ilya Kulikov makes “Rugby” and “Brothers” for us, Dmitry Dyachenko - “Ready for Anything”, Anton Fedotov - “Heirs”.
— Is it more expensive to produce series for online platforms than for broadcast?
