TVi () was a Ukrainian TV channel that began broadcasting in 2008; it was widely seen as Ukraine's only independent TV channel.TVi television channel stops broadcasting - source

korrespondent.net The ''Korrespondent.net'' ( ; ; literally: ''Correspondent'') is an online newspaper in Ukraine launched in 2000. It is a sister project to the ''Korrespondent'' printed weekly magazine also containing the latter's reduced free online version. ''K ...

, (20 March 2015) It was known for its critical coverage of the

Ukrainian government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, it was formed on 18 April 1991, by the Law ...

, particularly of President

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

. In late April 2013 the channel changed ownership in a disputed

takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...

. In early May 2013 the new management stated that they wanted to transform TVi into a mainstream TV channel (to be completed by September 2013). In March 2015 TVi stopped broadcasting because it had drained its financial resources. In March 2016 its broadcast licence was revoked.

History

TVi launched on 17 March 2008, and was set up by two exiled

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n businessmenn:

Vladimir Gusinsky Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky (, ; born 6 October 1952) is a Russian media tycoon. He founded the Media-Most holding company that included the NTV free-to-air channel, the newspaper ''Segodnya'', and a number of magazines. Early life a ...

and

Konstantin Kagalovsky Konstantin Grigoryevich Kagalovsky (; born 13 October 1957) is a Russian businessman. He is the former vice-president of the oil company Yukos and a key Yukos shareholder, former deputy chairman of Bank Menatep, and the former Russian represent ...

. They split due to a business dispute but Kagalovsky continued to fund TVi. According to Ukrainian

media watchdog Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inte ...

''Telekrytyka'' TVi and

5 Kanal 5 Kanal () is a television station in Ukraine formerly owned by businessman and fifth President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.Vitaly Portnikov.Portinikov emerges as one of nation’s top journalists, offering fearless commentary

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

(November 12, 2010) (Former) Chairman of the Editorial Board Mykola Knyazhytsky was placed at number 10 on the electoral list of

Batkivshchyna The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (), referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by People's Deputy of Ukraine, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. As the core party of the former Yulia Tymoshenko B ...

during the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 28 October 2012.Parli ...

. He was elected into parliament and Knyazhytsky left TVi immediately after.Список депутатів нової Верховної Ради

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(11 November 2012)

April 2013 ownership dispute

Oleksandr Altman was officially registered on 24 April 2013 as the channel's owner but according to

, TVi's previously registered owner, the documents showing that he sold the station were forged.Ukrainian TV Station Staff Strike To Protest Takeover

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

(24 April 2013)
Staff strike at Ukraine's opposition TV after takeover

GlobalPost GlobalPost Media Corporation is an American digital journalism company and former news website that focuses on international news. Founded on January 12, 2009 by Philip S. Balboni and Charles M. Sennott, its stated mission is "to redefine int ...

(24 April 2013)
Ukraine's only critical TV station silenced by ownership dispute

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

(25 April 2013) The staff of TVi then went on strike to protest the change of ownership that they fear will undermine their ability to air news critical of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. According to press reports Altman, a Ukrainian-born U.S. businessman, had in the past worked as an adviser to Energy Minister in the Second Azarov Government Eduard Stavytsky. (in April 2013) Altman stated his priority was to save the television channel as an objective source of information in Ukraine. 31 journalists resigned from TVi on 29 April 2013, they believed as TVi employees they could not anymore "guarantee our audience to provide objective and unbiased information". They (including

Mustafa Nayem Mustafa Masi Nayyem (, ; born June 28, 1981) is an Afghan- Ukrainian journalist, MP, lecturer at the Kyiv School of Economics, and public figure who was influential in sparking the Euromaidan in Ukraine. Since January 2023 Nayyem had been the hea ...

) set up a "web project in which we will do the same job".Найєм оголосив про старт нового проекту колишніх журналістів ТВі ''Nayem announced the launch of a new project of former journalists TBi''

(30 April 2013)
З ТВі звільняється 31 найкращий журналіст ''TVi freed 31 best journalists''

(29 April 2013) This "web project" eventually became

Hromadske.TV hromadske (; lit. ''Public'') is an independent online media in Ukraine. The station was announced in June 2013 by 15 journalists, before commencing operations on 22 November 2013. It is registered as an NGO.«Громадське ТБ»: «Все гірше, ніж ви думаєте, але надія є» ''"Public TV": "It is worse than you think, but there is hope"''
Телекритика (14/06/2013) Early May 2013 the new management stated that they wanted to transform TVi into "a full channel, similar to ICTV and

Novyi Kanal Novyi Kanal ( , ) is a Ukrainian television channel. The channel is a part of the Starlight Media broadcasting group, created by Viktor Pinchuk. History The channel was launched on July 15, 1998. At first, it was broadcast only in Kyiv, but ...

(and to a lesser intend

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, ...

and

1+1 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

)"; this was planned to be completed by September 2013.Нове керівництво ТВі хоче "посунути" ICTV та "Новий" ''The new leadership wants TVi "to move too" ICTV and "Novyi Kanal"''

(May 8, 2013)

Closure

On 23 March 2015 TVi stopped broadcasting because of financial problems. At the time the channel vowed to return next fall TV season. In March 2016 the channel's broadcast licence was revoked.According to the claim of the National Council of the broadcasting license Court annulled the TVi channel
Newsru.ua (March 9, 2016) On 10 October 2018 for two years tv channel resumed broadcast.

Reception

Reception of TVi was available throughout the whole country of Ukraine. TVi was available on more than 90% of cable networks in Ukraine. Having a lot of partner agreements with regional companies TVi was available Free To Air in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

Zaporizhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a population of ...

Kryvyi Rih Kryvyi Rih ( ; , ), also known as Krivoy Rog ( ), is a city in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kryvyi Rih Raion and its subordinate Kryvyi Rih urban hromada in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The city is part of the Kryvyi Rih Metropo ...

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Sloviansk Sloviansk is a city in Donetsk Oblast, northern part of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The city was known as ''Tor'' until 1784. While it did not actually belong to the raion itself, Sloviansk served as the administrative center of the S ...

Kramatorsk Kramatorsk (, ; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significance. Since October 2014, Kramatorsk has been the ...

, and

Melitopol Melitopol is a city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River, which flows through the eastern edge of the city into the Molochnyi Lyman estuary. Melitopol is the second-largest city ...

. TVi was not granted a digital license in the summer of 2011; meaning that TVi would be shown through existing cable and satellite networks have access to about 45% of Ukraine’s population (while the selected channels will have more than 90 percent nationwide coverage) from the autumn of 2011.Oligarchs strengthen grip over TV

(August 19, 2011) TVi claimed that the reason it was denied a digital license is because of its critical approach to

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Controversy

In June 2010 a video was filmed of a vehicle parked outside the TV station monitoring its activities. When the three occupants of the vehicle were asked what they were doing, they hid their faces and refused to answer questions. They then drove off, driving through a red light. TVi general director Mykola Kniazhytsky accused the SBU, Ukraine's main security agency, of carrying out this surveillance.

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

has condemned this as harassment. In April 2012, TVi accused government officials of trying to disrupt and shut down the station. This was in response to tax officials allegedly probing its businesses relationships with entrepreneurs who fund the station. On April 25, 2012, tax officials delivered letters requesting contractual and other documents at the residences of at least three entrepreneurs that relate to their business dealings with TVi. Director Kniazhytsky accused the tax officials of 'bullying', and 'behaving like thugs'. In August 2012 these charges were dropped. Assessed at that time, one report noted relative to the station's independence that it has an editorial board that includes Poland's

Adam Michnik Adam Michnik (; born 17 October 1946) is a Polish historian, essayist, former Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1989), dissident, Intellectual#Public intellectual, public intellectual, as well as co-founder and editor-in-chief of the P ...

and, " ucially, says ... Kniazhytsky, TVi's owner has no other business interests in Ukraine."

TVi Europe

On November 22, 2011, TVi Europe was launched, and it was the first Ukrainian and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

TV channel broadcast via satellite. The channel was broadcast in Ukraine and other European countries, and its billionaire owner

had reportedly invested $5 million into the new channel."Scrappy TVi’s European brother is born"
''kyivpost.com'', Nov. 24, 2011.

Programming

Every day TVi presented two 1-hour slots of the new production documentaries from National Geographic, AETN, Discovery. TVi produces 10 hours per week of own production that correlites to nationalwide Ukrainian channels:

Today

''Today'' () was a news service programme that came on the screen on week days at 8:30PM and 11:30PM.

The Truth

''The Truth'' () was a daily talk-show with famous people about events of the day. The anchors were Ukrainian’s famous journalists

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 Vitaly Portnikov. The program was on-air on week days at 11PM.

112 Emergency

''112 Emergency'' () was a weekly show about accidents and crimes happening in Ukraine. The show came on screens on Saturdays at 8:30PM.

Exclamation mark

''Exclamation mark'' () was a weekly journalistic investigation program about the most important incidents of the week. The anchor of the program was the famous journalist

Artem Shevchenko Artem Valeriiovych Shevchenko (; born 30 October 1977) is a Ukrainian TV journalist and manager, and is also the CEO of TVi channel. Biography Early years and education Artem Shevchenko was born on 30 October 1977 in Dnipropetrovsk (now ...

. The show came on screens on Mondays at 9PM.

Black and white

''Black and white'' () was a weekly political talk show with a famous Ukrainian politician.

Taste of Europe

''Taste of Europe'' () was a weekly political talk and

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a Television studio, studio set, or at the host's p ...

with

Paweł Kowal Paweł Robert Kowal (born 22 July 1975) is a Polish politician and former Member of the European Parliament. During his time in the EP, he served as the Chairman of the Ukraine–European Union relations, EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Commi ...

, a

politician and

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

. He talked with different famous Ukrainian people about

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, European values, Ukraine's relations with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and integration into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. The program came on screens on Saturdays at 11AM.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:TVi Defunct television stations in Ukraine Television channels and stations disestablished in 2015 Television channels and stations established in 2008 Ukrainian brands 2008 establishments in Ukraine 2015 disestablishments in Ukraine Organizations based in Kyiv Mass media of the Euromaidan Ukrainian-language television stations in Ukraine Internet television channels Streaming television in Ukraine Commercial-free television networks in Ukraine Vladimir Gusinsky