Tkachenko donated 83 million for the Telethon to wealthy channels and a company linked with Tymoshenko
The Center for the Protection of the Information Space of Ukraine has awarded contracts totaling UAH 83 million for producing TV programs in November-December to safeguard the information space during the conflict with Russia. This information comes from the Prozorro system, reported by Our Money.
Most of the money was given to support the channels airing the United News telethon – Rada, 1+1, ICTV, and Inter. Obshchestvennoye and the newcomer We Are Ukraine did not receive funds. According to one participant in the market, the funding received covers approximately one month of TV channel content. Starting next year, state funding is expected to increase, as up to UAH 2 billion was included in the 2023 budget.
The largest contracts from the state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy were obtained by Kinokit LLC, associated with the Deputy Head of the President's Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko. The companies contributed UAH 24.4 million for videos about the “Day of Defenders and Defenders of Ukraine” (UAH 5 million) and series of programs about the conflict with Russia (UAH 19.5 million).
Since the end of 2021, Kinokit has been creating content for the state TV channel Rada, which is a participant in the National Telethon. In October 2020, the former general producer of 1 + 1 Volodymyr Oseledchik, also a lecturer at the Ukrainian Film School, established by Kyrylo Tymoshenko's wife, Alena Tymoshenko, became a co-owner of the Kinokit company. In December 2021, before the relaunch of Rada, an actress from Odessa, Yulia Drozdova, became the owner of the company, and Sergey Samoylenko became the director. As per Bihus.info journalists, Drozdova studied at the Ukrainian Film School.
The director of the Kinokit company, Sergey Samoylenko, had dealings in Russia, and since the latter part of 2019, he has been an employee of Viktor Medvedchuk's 112 Ukraine channel. Several employees from Medvedchuk's channels moved to Rada. This includes Vladislav Matyash, who in 2019 led the 112 news agency and worked on Medvedchuk’s channel prior to the imposition of sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council. At the same time, Matyash took part in Kirill Timoshenko's company GoodMedia projects. Now Matyash holds the position of “media expert of the channel” Rada “”, and recently received the presidential award “For Merits of the III degree”.
Other participants of the National Telethon received smaller contracts compared to Kinokit.
PJSC Inter TV Channel secured contracts worth UAH 16 million. Their services for producing and broadcasting content during the national marathon are priced at UAH 3,300 per minute.
According to Forbes, the InterMediaGroup TV channels are in a difficult situation – there are mass layoffs of employees in the TV holding: “Only the news service remained there, and even then not in its entirety. The rest were supposedly sent on vacation.”
The main co-owners of the company are Group DF founder Dmitry Firtash (36%), SBU ex-chairman Valery Khoroshkovsky (45%) and people's deputy from the already banned Opposition Platform for Life party Sergei Lyovochkin (9%). The shares of Forbes shareholders were calculated on the basis of open data.
Viktor Pinchuk's SLM Novosti LLC received UAH 16.8 million and Studio 1+1 Television and Radio Company LLC from Igor Kolomoisky's group received UAH 16.3 million.
Their prices per minute of content are also UAH 3,300. But in the contracts with these companies, in the “technical requirements” section, various explanations were prescribed regarding the ordered content.
“Pluses” should “add confidence that Ukrainians are under the reliable protection of the state and the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. Their themes allow “to get used to the opinion that despite all” life goes on “and” we will live “. …News is a distraction.
Telethon: 83 million fell under the cut
In turn, StarLightMedia indicates that “the audience understands cause-and-effect relationships, understands processes more deeply, develops critical thinking and own attitude”.
Telethon: 83 million fell under the cut
In addition, Pinchuk's company indicated that it has a “rich experience” in conducting interviews. An example is communication with President Volodymyr Zelensky, his wife Elena Zelenskaya, US State Department Secretary Anthony Blinken and US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. jpg” class=”wpg_image” width=”768″ height=”187″ alt=”” />
Telethon: 83 million fell under the cut
Another UAH 9.6 million was received by Andrey Krolenko and Kateryna Klymenko LLC Media Scope Global. This company must produce a number of commercials for placement on Pinchuk and Kolomoisky's TV channels that are not included in the National Marathon – “2 + 2”, “New Channel”, “2 + 2”, “Tet”, “Plus Plus”, “M1”, “Curlers ”, “Vot”, “M2”.
The National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine is also included in the Unified Telethon. But the public broadcaster did not receive a single contract from the Center for the Protection of the Information Space of Ukraine.
Also, LLC “We are Ukraine” did not receive money. This company was created by former workers of the TRC “Ukraine” Rinat Akhmetov. In the summer, the oligarch refused television licenses and channels. Consequently, the journalists found another source of income and continued broadcasting. Even before receiving a license for digital broadcasting from the National TV Council, “We are Ukraine” was broadcast on YouTube. Among the speakers were politicians, officials and pool experts from the Office of the President.
Telethon: 83 million fell under the cut
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