A new report reveals that Russia’s media giants are struggling with financial difficulties, forcing the Kremlin to inject more funds to keep the propaganda machine running.
Russia’s three media giants – Gazprom Media Holding, National Media Group, and VGTRK – which are key players in the Kremlin’s propaganda machine, are bleeding money due to the stagnation of the local advertising market and the withdrawal of western capital, according to a new report issued today by the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC).
The three media conglomerates based in Russia jointly generated approximately RUB 751.6bn in revenue during the decade ending in 2021, which is equivalent to almost US$9bn at current prices. According to financial data reported by the companies, they collectively incurred a loss of RUB 4bn (US$47.6m) during the same period.
The three companies receive substantial state subsidies, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine, which prompted the Kremlin to increase its media budget. It is expected that in 2023, at least US$ 390m will be doled out to VGTRK and Channel One, according to the report. National Media Group and the Russian state co-own Channel One, but their financial records are separate. The main media assets of the three holdings and the state are television channels, which include Channel One, Russia-1, Russia-24, Russia-K, Carousel, NTV, Match TV, TNT, TV-3, Friday!, REN TV, STS, and Domashniy.
“Billions of rubles from the state budget will continue to be allocated towards propaganda television, but this will come at the expense of other state-funded sectors,” wrote Anastasiia Vorozhtsova, the author of the report. The report predicts more difficulties for media companies in Russia as the country expects further economic decline.
The complete report can be found on this page.
Photo: MJRC