Gazprom Media has terminated its contract with the Tricolor direct-to-home provider as of February 1, 2021, in response to the operator’s inconsistent and aggressive policy, which was damaging the existing balance between operators and copyright holders.
From February 1, as per a decision by Tricolor, its subscribers will no longer be able to watch all the TV channels from Red Media television company’s distribution package (part of Gazprom Media). This includes the premium sports packages MATCH! Football and MATCH Premier, as well as channels covering various genres made by Gazprom Media companies and other producers.
During discussions on extending the agreement between the companies through 2021, Tricolor issued an ultimatum to Red Media to revise the commercial part of their current agreement. This proposal gave unacceptable conditions that do not consider the economic situation and existing practices on the market. None of Red Media’s counter offers were accepted.
Gazprom Media Holding adheres to the principle of a single pricing policy for all Pay-TV operators. By agreeing to Tricolor’s demands, Gazprom Media would have granted preferential treatment to one operator, which is unacceptable to the company.
The most negative effect on Tricolor’s content offering will clearly be the loss of Red Media’s sports channels from its packages. This is because GPM Match channels offer exclusive content to their audiences and there is nothing like it anywhere else on the Russian market. At the moment, NTV-PLUS digital and satellite television (part of Gazprom Media) has prepared a special offer for Tricolor’s subscribers which gives the optimal price–quality ratio. This offer includes special conditions for buying equipment and a subscription to the Basic Online package for one ruble per month for a year, as well as discounts on sports packages that include Match channels.
Gazprom Media is ready to continue its negotiations with Tricolor at any time to resume commercial relations on market conditions, because it is confident that it would address the interests of both companies, not to mention Tricolor’s subscribers.