, logo = STB logo.svg , headquarters =

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

, country =

, launch_date = 23 June 1997 , picture_format = 1080i (

HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the ...

)
, owner = Starlight Media Group 50%

Modern Times Group Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

, key_people = Volodymyr Borodyanskyi, Oleksiy Mustafin , website
www.stb.ua
, terr_serv_1 = DVB-T2 , terr_chan_1 = MX-2 (11) STB ( uk, СТБ) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

commercial television network. Today, the coverage area of the network is 85% of Ukraine's territory. It is broadcast in all

Oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom ...

centers and all Ukrainian cities with a population greater than 50,000. It occupies the 1st place in the list of the leading TV networks in Ukraine. The channel is a part of Starlight Media broadcasting group, created by Viktor Pinchuk.

History

The founders of the networks were Ukrainian and American companies: International Media Center, Shachar Enterprises, Inc., Internews Netouron K. The STB was launched on 2 June 1997. Since 1997, STB was controlled by Volodymyr Sivkovych, a Ukrainian businessman and politician. He was the one, who decided to create the

TV channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, wit ...

. Since September, 1996, the crew of STB broadcast news under the title ''Vikna'' ( uk, Вікна, "Windows") on the frequency of UT-2. In 1999, STB fell under the influence of companies of the Russian

Lukoil The PJSC Lukoil Oil Company ( stylized as LUKOIL or ЛУКОЙЛ in Cyrillic script) is a Russian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Moscow, specializing in the business of extraction, production, transport, and sale of petrol ...

Group through its Norcross Corporation because of pro

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

pro

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...

pro

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has Russia under Vladimir Putin, served continuously as president or Prime Minis ...

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...

's support for aggressive actions taken against STB management's independent position in early 1999 resulting in Oleksiy Fedun, who made STB into a very pro Kuchma platform, becoming the executive president of the network on September 6, 1999. In 2000, the popularity of the channel rose. The most popular programs are ''Vikna. News.'', ''Vikna. Business.'', ''Vikna. Capital-city.'', ''Vikna. Crimes.'', ''Vikna. Sport.'' and ''Vikna. Midnight.'' STB becomes an info-channel. In 2000, ''Vikna'' was registered as a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

of STB. In 2001 STB became a registered trademark. STB became the first Ukrainian television network that got a domain name and website — stb.ua. In 2002, the administration of STB changes its brand as an info-channel. There are more entertaining programs on air, such as, National Striptise Championship of Ukraine, reality-shows ''The House'' and ''Starving'', and the scandalous

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk S ...

''Restricted Zone''. The popularity of STB falls. Lukoil tries to sell STB. In 2004, STB becomes the property of one of Leonid Kuchma son in law Viktor Pinchuk's StarLightMedia Group. Through 1997 to 2007, many famous television personalities have worked at STB. The most popular of them are

Georgiy Gongadze Georgiy Ruslanovych Gongadze ka, გიორგი რუსლანის ძე ღონღაძე, Giorgi Ruslanis dze Ghonghadze (21 May 1969 – 17 September 2000) was a Georgian- Ukrainian journalist and film director who was ki ...

, Myroslava Gongadze, Yurii Horban, Oleksii Mustafin, Kateryna Nesterenko, Osman Pashayev, Tetyana Ramus,

Roman Skrypin Román Skrýpin (born 27 May 1973) is a Ukrainian media manager, journalist, television host, a chief of the Ukrainian independent media union. Biography He was born on 27 May 1973 in Poltava, Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. He is married and ...

, Ihor Tatarchuk, Iryna Vannikova, Mykola Veresen,

Alena Vinnytska Alena Vinnitskaya ( uk, Альона Ві́нницька ''Alona Vinnytska'';Her artist name is the Russian version of her name (russian: Алёна Винницкая ''Alena Vinnitskaya'') born Olha Viktorivna Vinnytska ( uk, О́льга � ...

and Natalka Yakymovych.

STB today

Since 2005 the programs of STB were changed. The group of news programs called Windows got a better look (They began to look very close to

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

). New popular shows were introduced. Thanks to the format change, STB entered the top 5 Ukrainian channels by share in 2006, and in 2007 it became the 3rd largest Ukrainian channel by audience share (appr. 8% for 18+ audiences). STB's most popular programs are "Paralelnyi Svit" (Parallel World) and "Bytva Ekstrasensiv" (Psychic Challenge). In 2008 STB launched the "Tantsuyut Vsi" (So You Think You Can Dance) talent show. In May 2009 STB started the "Ukraina maye Talant" ("Ukraine's Got Talent") show, similar to ITV's

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

. Related to the Crimean crises 2014 STB broadcasts in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

ended on 9 March 2014, 14:30 o'clock East European time.

Language policy

Is one of a few Ukrainian TV channels, which use particular rules of Kharkiv orthography in some TV programs. That causes both compliments and critics from the society. But, according to monitoring data made by "Boycott Russian Films" campaign activists on 27 September 2014, there was approximately 54% of Russian language content on the channel.
. Boycott Russian Films. 01.10.2014

Referred sources

External links

Official Site
{{Ukrainian TV Television stations in Ukraine Ukrainian brands Television channels and stations established in 1997 Ukrainian-language television stations in Ukraine

History

STB today

Language policy

See also

Referred sources

External links