Inter TV channel ordered to "live for a long time"
The autumn TV premiere season has kicked off on Ukrainian television. However, unlike others, InterMediaGroup hasn't launched anything. The television holding company is undergoing massive layoffs, and advertisers can be counted on the fingers of one hand, writes Forbes.
This year, one of Ukraine's largest television groups, InterMediaGroup, appears to be missing its traditional autumn high season.
InterMediaGroup includes the television channels NTN, Enter-Film, Mega, Piksel, K1, K2, Zoom, and Inter. The last three broadcast the "Unified News" marathon. The others only have two relatively new projects—"War Stories" and "Looking for You"—adapted to current events.
Completely different history of competitors. At StarLightMedia Victor Pinchuk, Novy Kanal and STB, which are not involved in "Unified News," are launching around 20 series and shows. On "1+1 Media" Igor Kolomoisky - almost fifteen.
This has already impacted advertising occupancy. Inter's ad blocks were 40% full from September 19th to 25th, according to Igor Polosmak, Director of TV Investments and Buying at Razom Group. StarLightMedia and 1+1 Media saw 86% occupancy during the same period.
"You can count our advertisers on air on the fingers of one hand," says Dmitry Dutchin, Director of Marketing and Sales at sales house Space Media. Inter has essentially left the advertising market because it's not attracting advertisers, explains a top manager at a media group who asked not to be named. "They're effectively done," he adds.
Besides the lack of premieres, there's another reason why advertisers aren't choosing Inter. Until 2022, the media holding sold advertising jointly with Rinat Akhmetov's Media Group Ukraine (MGU), says Enver Kikava, CEO of the advertising holding Publicis Groupe. In July Moscow State University ceased to existThis has significantly narrowed the audience InterMediaGroup can offer advertisers. "Being left alone complicates their situation," Kikava concludes.
InterMediaGroup itself did not respond to Forbes' requests for information about the company's situation. We inquired about the state of affairs from colleagues, competitors, and partners. And things are very bad for this once-leading media group.
A steep dive was prepared for the Inter TV channel
The main reason InterMediaGroup hasn't started its TV season is a lack of funding, Kikawa of Publicis Groupe suggests in a conversation with Forbes. And this story doesn't begin in 2022.
For the past two years, TV channels have been based on content the company created or acquired previously, says media expert Alexander Glushchenko.They have long since stopped systematically investing in content."Kikawa notes. He suggests that viewers weren't interested in watching InterMediaGroup channels.
TV ratings confirm this. In 2017, the group's flagship channel, Inter, had a 9,69% share of the national viewing audience. In January 2022, it had already reached 6,36%. The last time Inter enjoyed the fortune of being the country's number one channel was in 2012. Since then, it has slipped to sixth place, behind all the flagship channels of Pinchuk, Kolomoisky, and Akhmetov.
And the interest of Ukrainian viewers is not cheap. As Andriy Solomakha, an expert with the public organization "Information Community," told Forbes, before the war, maintaining an information and entertainment channel cost an average of $800,000–$1,000,000 per month. An additional $200,000–$300,000 is needed for a lineup of expensive entertainment shows.
The television advertising market couldn't cover such expenses, and the shortfall had to be covered by media group shareholders. For example, Rinat Akhmetov's media business cost him $100–150 million annually, Oleg Arestarkhov, Director of Corporate Communications at Group DF and former employee of Akhmetov's Segodnya Multimedia, told Forbes.
InterMediaGroup shareholders have been going through tough times in recent years. The company's main co-owners are the founder of Group DF. Dmitry Firtash, his share is 36%, the former head of the SBU Valery Khoroshkovsky with a 45% share and a member of parliament from the now-banned Opposition Platform - For Life party Sergey Levochkin from 9%.
Firtash has been held in Vienna for the past several years under a travel restriction and €125 million bail. In 2014, he was arrested by Austrian police at the request of the US Department of Justice. Since then, Firtash has been contesting his extradition to the US, where he faces 50 years in prison. The US accuses him of accepting nearly $18,5 million in bribes to obtain a titanium ore mining license in India. Inter TV channel also got into trouble.
Firtash's business, the chemical holding Ostchem, is currently in dire straits. Back in 2014, the company lost control of the Stirol concern, located in Horlivka. In the spring of 2022, the Pechersk court transferred 20 regional gas companies that were part of Firtash's Regional Gas Company (RGK) to ARMA. In July 2022, Russian troops nearly destroyed the Severodonetsk Azot plant, one of Europe's largest producers of ammonia and fertilizers. Forbes estimated the plant's losses at $50-60 million. It constituted approximately 25% of Ostchem's assets.
Khoroshkovsky, Karl Sturen's partner in the wind energy company Vindkraft, lost this asset due to the occupation of the Kherson region. Levochkin, according to UP data, is located on the French Riviera.
In Vienna, UP journalists also spotted InterMediaGroup media managers. Specifically, Anton Nikitin, editor-in-chief of the Inter TV channel's information and analysis service, and Anna Bezlyudnaya, the group's director.
What will happen to the Inter media group next?
InterMediaGroup's TV channels are truly in dire straits, a former top manager at one of the media holdings told Forbes. Recovery will require not only financial resources but also time. He estimates that resuming in-house production will take at least a year to a year and a half.
People are also needed. Meanwhile, the television holding company is undergoing massive layoffs, four sources—three top managers and a former screenwriter—told Forbes anonymously. "Only the newsroom remains, and even then, not a full staff," says one of our sources. "The rest were supposedly sent on leave." The former screenwriter says that in April, employees received an email informing them of the end of their collaboration. He says the remaining team is working remotely from Warsaw.
There are rumors in the media market that InterMediaGroup may be put up for sale.
Another theory is that the shareholders are liquidating the asset, just as Rinat Akhmetov closed Moscow State University. And with the same rationale—to avoid the company's shareholders being included on the oligarch list. Media ownership is one of the criteria for a businessman to be included on that list.
Another possibility is stagnation. "I predict this whole story will end: the telethon on Inter might still exist, but the other channels' schedules definitely won't be updated," says a former top manager at one media group.
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