Russian television channel gearing up in Cyprus

A Russian television channel will be added to the island’s airwaves soon, but state authorities are reluctant to agree to programming without subtitles.

A Cypriot company has submitted a broadcasting permit application for a 24-hour non-subscription channel which would be broadcasting mainly entertainment programmes geared to Russian-speaking residents on the island as well as tourists.

But the TV station will not offer subtitles to their Russian-language programmes, according to daily Phileleftheros, causing headaches to the Cyprus Radio Television Authority.

The CRTA, which is tasked with monitoring radio and television content that goes on air, would need a bigger budget to hire Russian-speaking staff to monitor the new channel.

A potential sticking point in the application is also the fact that Russian is not an official language of Cyprus, prompting officials to investigate whether this would violate the constitution due to the airwaves being part of national treasure.

The media company says aired programmes will mainly consist of Russian comedies in their native language, while no emphasis is said to be given on news shows.
There are currently two Russian-language radio stations in Cyprus.

The company says it is ready to start broadcasting as soon as they get the permit from the state authorities.