Will Russian TV channels return to Georgia?

Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

After the initiative by the prime minister of Georgia on participation in the Sochi Olympics, the other non-symbolic step is taking shape. It correlates to the tactics of “good-will signs” to Moscow. Moreover, this step doesn’t place “European or Euro-Atlantic choice of Georgia” in doubt, as the new authorities are as enthusiastic about the choice as the team of Saakashvili. This step might be returning Russian TV-channels to the Georgian media space.

Today NTV, ORT, and RTR can be watched in Georgia only through a satellite dish. Firstly, it is rather expensive – about $100. Not all residents of the country can afford it. Moreover, “the dish” has a big disadvantage in cities: small apartments, location of windows or a balcony is not always suitable for directing the dish on a satellite which broadcasts this or that channel. Another question is placing the dish on a roof of your own house in a country-side, but the majority of TV audience is living in cities.

Rebroadcasting from the central antenna situated on the Tbilisi Mountain and receiving a signal from Russia was stopped in 1999 by the initiative of the chairman of the parliamentary committee on legal affairs, Mikhail Saakashvili. Owners of Georgian TV channels who were interested in displacing competitors of the advertisement market found an approach to a young politician; and it is no surprise that Saakashvili preferred not to ruin relations with the initiator of Rustavi-2, Erosi Kitsmarishvili. Four years later this TV company brought him in power, supporting the Rose Revolution. Thus, since 1999 Russian TV channels were not broadcasted, but Georgians watched them through cable nets spread all over the country.

Statistics shows that the most active development of cable nets took place in the period of “the crucial decision” of 1999, i.e. people began to buy cable packets for watching Russian channels, rather than CNN or BBC. Similarity of information and cultural spaces of Russia and Georgia remained at that time.

The situation changed dramatically during the August war of 2008: all cable operators stopped broadcasting Russian channels at once. They did this brassily – without any explanations to consumers who had paid money and signed a contract on certain channels. During the “August shock” Georgians had no time for dealing with operators of cable nets. But time passed, and Russian channels didn’t come back.

According to unofficial information, the decision on the ban of Russian TV-channels was made by the secretary of the National Security Council, Kakha Lomaya, and businessmen did not dare to disobey. An unpleasant and dangerous from the legal point of view situation appeared when an important decision which influenced many processes was made without a normative document and a necessary procedure by the executive borders. Among such decisions is a ban of Russian songs in restaurants. In private conversations businessmen state that they have made such a stupid step under pressure of the revenue service; but nobody will find any appropriate document in any state body. The most interesting thing is that the unofficial ban of Russian songs still functions in most Tbilisi restaurants. Russian musicians and singers are not guilty in the war, and the majority of Georgians accept the ban as a stupid thing.