During the meeting, the commission approved the guidelines for the formation of the second and third multiplexes of digital terrestrial television broadcasting, prepared with the participation of media representatives. The Ministry of Communications and Mass Media is to hold a bidding process to select the channels for the second multiplex by December 1, 2011 and by May 30, 2011 for the third multiplex.
The officials at the meeting also heard a report by Konstantin Ernst, head of Channel One, and Oleg Dobrodeyev, general director of the Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, on the two broadcasters’ joint establishment of a new children’s and teenagers’ TV channel Karusel. The new channel, which is based on the existing TeleNyanya and Bibigon channels, is to go on air on January 1, 2011. The channel’s broadcast schedule has been arranged considering the upcoming children’s holidays.
In addition, Andrei Romanchenko, head of the Russian Television and Radio Network, briefed the commission about the performance results of the federally targeted programme for Russian television and radio broadcasting in 2010. Mr Shuvalov said that at its next meeting the commission would consider progress on the federally targeted programme “in greater detail.”