NTV Outstrips Channel 1 in Ratings

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: December 19, 2012 (Issue # 1740)

MOSCOW — NTV has outstripped rival Channel One to become the most-watched channel of the year for the first time since TV audiences have been measured.

Since the beginning of 2012, NTV captured an average of 13.9 percent of TV viewers, while Channel One attracted 13.7 percent, Vedomosti reported Tuesday, citing market research company TNS.

“NTV is fighting for its audience and economic efficiency rather than for being first or second. We were successful at this not only this year but in previous years too,” NTV’s general director Vladimir Kulistikov told the business daily.

But Konstantin Ernst, general director of Channel One, reacted skeptically to the TNS findings, saying his station stopped working with the research company seven years ago and that he doesn’t trust its data — even though Channel One still sells its advertisements based on numbers provided by TNS, according to Vedomosti.

Channel One has its own audience measurement service, which has not reported any abrupt drop in the station’s audience share, Ernst said.

Traditionally, three national channels have dominated the Russian TV market: Channel One, Rossia and NTV. All are owned by the government either directly or through state-owned companies.