The international French-language channels TV5 Monde and France 24 have announced that they will no longer be broadcast since this weekend on the Russian cable television network, but remain accessible via satellite reception.
A Russian law in question
In question, the entry into force Friday of a new law in Russia punishing up to 15 years in prison the propagation of information which can discredit the Russian military forces. The law also suppresses any call to sanction Moscow. “Our distributor Canal+ International via its subsidiary Thema Russia, asked us to hide all our information offer (JT and magazine) including that of our partner channels (France Télévisions, Radio Canada, RTBF, RTS, ARTE France)” , details the string. “Not having the adequate technical means and being morally opposed to amputating” its programs, TV5Monde was “forced to accept a suspension of the distribution of (its) signal to (its) two Russian operators” , she adds.
Continuation of a long series
The day before, France Médias Monde had indicated the suspension of France 24, the French public channel of international continuous information, by the Russian cable operators. The latter and TV5Monde nevertheless remain accessible in Russia by satellite reception, respectively via HotBird and the HB13 satellite, and can each reach 1.7 million households in the country. TV5Monde is also visible in this way in Ukraine and Belarus as well as in streaming through the TV5Monde Europe site. Its entire digital offer is accessible on the TV5Mondeplus platform.