Novgorodskiye Vedomosti (Veliky Novgorod) – November 28, 2008

RBC TV named best news channel in Europe

The first Russian business television channel, RBC TV, has been named the best news channel in Europe and awarded the top prize from the international Hot Bird TV Awards 2008, recognizing its high level of professionalism and content quality. RBC TV outdid its rivals, the BBC’s Arabic language service (BBC Arabic TV), the channels Bloomberg Television and France24, as well as two other broadcasters, Russia Today and Rai News 24. The latter two companies were eliminated during the first round.

The awards were presented in a total of 11 categories, and other Russian channels were also named winners. NTV Plus was granted the award for its channel NTV Plus Tennis, which was recognized as the best sports channel, and also named as the most dynamically developing company. Meanwhile, 365 Days TV channel prevailed in the Culture/Education nomination.

Hot Bird TV Awards was established in 1998 by a joint initiative of the European satellite communications organization Eutelsat, the European broadcasting union Eurovisioni, and SAT Expo. The statuettes of the Greek goddess of the Earth Gaia have become the symbol of the award. The authors of this idea thought that this symbol was a great metaphor for the satellite television surrounding the Earth. The official ceremony was held in Venice.

RBC TV is the main television channel in Russia, featuring economic and financial news from Russia and other countries, analytical reviews, expert forecasts and commentaries, thematic programs and reviews of economy sectors, interviews with top newsmakers, and on-the-spot reporting. The channel’s monthly audience exceeds 12 million people.