The Russian business TV channel was launched more than half a year ago. This is a short time for a serious project, but it seems the shareholders and management of the RBC group decided to review the concept of the business television. Though, in its present form, RBC TV can hardly be called so.

" RBC TV Supervisory Board approved the performance and main areas of development of the channel," the press service of RBC reported. "As of the end of 2003, the coverage reached 11.5m people, which is 50 percent more than planned." In March, it was 16m people. The group's top managers have said recently that the main goal of RBC TV was "to meet the business community’s need for business TV information". It is well known that appetite comes with eating. Today, the channel's appetites are not restricted to the business audience: RBC TV bets on expansion, on appealing to new target groups.

Walls in the offices of the channel's top management are hung with geographic maps on which areas covered by RBC TV are marked with flags. Yellow flags show areas of cable broadcasting, and green flags - terrestial broadcasting. The TV channel currently broadcasts in 60 cities, cooperating with more than hundred broadcasters. In Moscow, about 3m people can watch RBC TV (the eastern and western parts of the capital are not covered), and 1.5m people - in the Moscow region. The number of flags on the maps keeps growing.

RUSSIAN BLOOMBERG COMPANY

"Many businessmen to whom I talked say this channel is an adjusted version of Bloomberg," said Igor Yurgens, Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. Alexander Shokhin, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Renaissance Capital, went further: "We can interpret RBC in a new way: Russian Bloomberg Company. I think, step by step, RBC TV is going to become the Russian Bloomberg. For many, it has become the main source of information. Ànd for serious market traders, it is an important additional source, allowing them to correct their strategies. All this shows that the channel is a big success."

Meanwhile, RBC TV tries to distances itself from Bloomberg, not seeing it as an example. "We are neither Russian Bloomberg nor Russian CNBC," RBC General Director Yury Rovensky says. "The concept of RBC TV is unique: we combine news broadcasting and analitical programs, we work both for professional financiers and broader audience, which has an interest in economic problems."

"REMARCABLE AMBITION"

Most members of the country's political and business elite speak about the channel in a complimentary way.

Valery Draganov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Economic Policy Entrepreneurship and Tourism, said: "When RBC TV just started operating, I gave it an interview on some unimportant issue. And I thought at that time: what a remarcable ambition! Indeed, in a matter of few weeks, I saw that the channel was gathering strength very quickly. I am very glad that this channel has appeared, because news and business bulletins usually have a rather restricted character on TV, and you can rarely hear a competent judgment. On RBC TV, we can hear not only the opinions of the establishment but also the judgments of competent experts. They are young men and women who made business careers. Their judgments about business, about relations between business and the state, their views please me more than traditional judgments of the establishment. It is great that the channel balances between well-known names in the economy and managers of a new type."

Other officials are also pleased. "Economy has a huge influence on politics in the modern world," says Alexander Yakovenko, an official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. " RBC TV helps analyze many foreign policy problems." Deputy Tax Minister Mikhail Mashustin notes that RBC-ÒV always provides fresh information about the business community: "This is very important for every official and businessman, but national channels do not always provide this information." What entrepreneurs value the most is an opportunity to save their time. Konstantin Volkov, President of the Russian Textile Alliance, says: "For me, RBC TV means quickly provided information, it is the summary of the main economic events."

Gradually, RBC TV becomes the source of information for other Russian media, largely due to the introduction of the so-called remote camera technology, allowing the country's leading experts to go on air directly from their workplaces in banks, investment companies, business newspapers and so on. RBC TV is the only Russian channel using this new technology (while this is a usual practice for western business channels).

As for western television, RBC TV effectively cooperates with CNN and CNBC, exchanging programs within the framework of partnership agreements. Since October 2003, the channel has provided news reports about Russia for CNN on a regular basis: three reports are broadcast daily on CNN's World Report program under the title " RBC for CNN". RBC TV reports are popular: so, a report about the reaction of the Russian public and business community to parliamentary elections, was broadcast six times on CNN.

Achievements of RBC are obvious. But the consequences of experimenting with the concept of RBC TV are not obvious. It is difficult to predict whether the TV channel will manage to please both parties: on the one hand, financiers, stock brokers, analysts and businessmen, and on the other hand - a broad public, which is usually concerned about changes in the dollar's exchange rate, interest rates and the like. "Everything about business and for business" - this was the slogan of RBC TV until recently. At least it was clear which audience the channel targeted and what it offered. The key idea of RBC TV's new advertising campaign is "we help earn millions". What managers do not say is whether it is about millions of people who earn little or it is about few people who earn millions in hard currency. Perhaps, this advertisment is too complicated? Maybe the broad audience will not understand the message behind this play on words? On the other hand, the playful slogan, apparently contradicting the established image of the channel, could frighten off a serious audience, which RBC TV initially targeted.

GENERATION NEXT?

"In terms of stylistics, RBC TV belongs to the next generation of electronic media," says Gleb Pavlovsky, a political analyst. "First, these media sources will be underestimated because they are more content-rich, they do not have an entertaining combination of politics and economy. RBC TV is a channel for middle class people, for the 'financial intelligentsia’. It will profit from working with new groups, which will inevitably strengthen."

Îne of the most obvious advantages of the channel is its objectiveness, which is new to Russian viewers: reporters inform, experts comment. If there is a conflict, both parties have an opportunity to express themselves. Judging by its TV programs, RBC TV does not claim the status of the "fourth branch of power". It has other ambitions: to earn trust of market traders and the audience.

" RBC TV is a channel almost without politics," Irina Khakamada said. "But it provides so much information that it is easier for a person to develop his own political thinking. This is what distinguishes it from other channels, on which there is a lot of politics, from a formal point of view, but in fact it is propaganda."

RBC top managers always stress that the channel is a business project in the first place, and it has corresponding goals. If RBC TV manages to become profitable without becoming politically engaged or "yellow", there will be reason for optimism.

LEARN, LEARN AND LEARN

The company made it clear that RBC TV's success was its key priority, but the group’s management also attached significant importance to the educational function of the channel. Members of the RBC TV Supervisory Board agree: Igor Kostikov, head of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market, believes it is necessary to strengthen educational elements of information programs, while Yevgeny Yasin, head of the Higher School of Economics, thinks the channel's educational programs should be distributed to Russian schools and higher educational establishments.

"The overall level of economic knowledge in the country declined," complains Igor Yurgens. "That is why more popular comments, programs and news bulletins are needed to explain what the leaders of economic opinion say on RBC TV." Managers of the business channel responded to these recommendations: there is more economic educations programs on the channel. It is unlikely that the motive behind is social responsibility of business, which has become a popular topic. Rather, it is work for the future: the more people in the country understand the basics of modern economy, the better chance RBC TV has to win a significant audience - real, not potential.

NO CHAMPAIGN WITHOUT RISK

The RBC group has got used to risking, going ahead of the market and remarkably predicting the course of events. As an example, we will refer to the chronology of events in April 2002.

Moody's international ratings agency revises its outlook on Russia's credit rating from "stable" to "positive". This is followed by a sharp rise in stock prices. On April 18, Vladimir Putin addresses the Federation Council, confirming the country's commitment to liberal values. On the same day, the RTS index rises to its highest level since January 6, 1998. On April 18, RBC holds its first IPO (initial public offering) on Russian stock exchanges. RBC stocks were five times oversubscribed. RBC raises more than $13m, and the company's capitallization rises to $83m. The largest part of funds raised through the IPO, is invested in an innovation TV project.

Coincidences impress. The history of RBC TV makes you think that its founders have a supernatural intuition. Let us hope that this intuition will not fail RBC this time, too, and RBC TV's policy of expansion will pay off.