CNN is allowed to broadcast on cable and satellite channels in Russia – ministry

Satellite Dishes

(Interfax – November 11, 2014) Russian laws are not stop the CNN television network from broadcasting on cable and satellite channels in Russia, the country’s Communications and Mass Media Ministry said in a press release.

“Following the CNN television channel’s announcement that it will soon end broadcasts in Russia, the Communications and Mass Media Ministry of the Russian Federation explains that existing Russian laws do no stop this TV channel from distributing its information in Russia using cable and satellite networks,” the ministry said.

There are legal forms and ways for foreign news channels to broadcast in Russia, it said.

“Representatives of this television channel can consult the Communications and Mass Media Ministry of Russia in order to receive the required licenses,” it said.

According to earlier reports, the U.S. television channel Cable News Network (CNN) will shut down its distribution via Russian cable networks by December 31, 2014, according to a report posted on the Vedomosti website.

The newspaper said Vimpelcom (MOEX: VIMP) and Akado had confirmed a CNN notice to that effect.

The notice did not mention the reason for shutting down CNN operations in Russia. The CNN Russia office declined comment, Vedomosti said.

The television channel was established by Ted Turner in 1980; it was one of the first to launch 24/7 broadcasting. The CNN Russia office opened in 1983, several years after the channel was started up in the United States.

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