Russians are Turning Away from Putin’s TV Channels Even on New Year’s Eve

Paul Goble

            Staunton, January 5 – It has long been a tradition in Russia that people watch central television on New Year’s Eve, but this year Russians turned away from Russia-1 and the First Channel in significant numbers, choosing to watch other channels or even no television at all. Given the centrality of TV in the Putin system, this is a significant political development.

            Just over about six million Russians watched First Channel on New Year’s Eve, more than 500,000 fewer than a year earlier, and about the same number watched Russia-1, more than 220,000 fewer than in 2017 (newsland.com/community/8211/content/rossiiane-ne-zakhoteli-smotret-rossiiu-1-i-pervyi-kanal-v-novogodniuiu-noch/6607159 and ura.news/news/1052366251).

                This decline happened even though both channels went out of their way to feature pop culture favorites. But Russians did not give up watching television altogether: they simply turned to other channels. STS, which featured a Urals variety show saw its audience jump from 814,000 viewers a year ago to 2.2 million this year.