Ukraine Today was a Ukraine-based private
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...
satellite television channel, then
webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
ing service.
The channel, which was owned by the Ukrainian
1+1 group and headquartered in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, presented round-the-clock news bulletins aimed at the
overseas news market. The General Producer was
Tetiana Pushnova
Tatiana Pushnova (born March 12, 1978) is a Ukrainian reporter, editor and producer. She is chief editor of " Television News Service" and General Producer of Ukraine Today since August 2014.
Biography
Pushnova was born March 12, 1978, in the ci ...
.
In April 2016 it was announced that satellite broadcasting would be stopped, to become an online-only service. Prior to that it was an international satellite television channel. On 26 December 2016, it was announced that its parent company 1+1 was shutting down the online service on 1 January 2017.
History
In the midst of the
Revolution of Dignity
The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, and
Euromaidan
Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...
, which saw major political change in Ukraine, as well as a surge of perceived anti-Ukraine propaganda from Russia, and in particular from channel
RT, Ukrainian oligarch
Ihor Kolomoyskiy
Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magna ...
, owner of one of the largest media groups in Ukraine,
1+1 Group, switched the focus of his first 24-hour news channel from
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
matters to Ukraine, before relaunching as Ukraine Today. Kolomoyskyi stated that "Ukraine Today is our contribution in support of Ukraine's European choice".
Previous ventures
The channel has its origins in two previous English-language news channels owned by 1+1 Media and its majority shareholder Ukrainian oligarch
Ihor Kolomoyskyi
Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magna ...
;
[ ]Jewish News 1
Jewish News One, or JN1, was an international news network covering world news with a focus on Judaism-related events. The channel was of Ukrainian - Belgian origin. Its primary mission was to report Jewish and Israeli current affairs without bia ...
, which closed on 22 April 2014, and the intermediary channel Ukraine News 1 which closed in June 2014.
Launch of Ukraine Today
Ukraine Today began broadcasting on 14 August 2014, with a live stream on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
and broadcast via the Eutelsat Hot Bird satellite, displaying a testcard and scrolling text giving information on how to receive the channel. The channel officially launched on Ukrainian Independence Day
Independence Day of Ukraine ( uk, День Незалежності України) is the main state holiday in modern Ukraine, celebrated on 24 August in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence of 1991.
History
When Ukraine was still ...
, 24 August[ when it began broadcasting news content.
In 2014 Ukraine Today was operated by the ]UNIAN
The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...
TV company.Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ven ...
platform, alongside its sister channel 1+1 International
1+1 International is an international TV channel aimed at the Ukrainian diaspora, broadcasting throughout North America and Europe. It is the international sister channel of the Ukrainian channel 1+1 and started broadcasting in March 2006. The ...
, being the first Ukrainian TV channels to broadcast to the United Kingdom. The Ukrainian embassy in London then joined the channel in 'officially launching' in the UK that December. It was already available in Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and in Washington D.C. on the MHz Networks cable system.
Closure
Less than a year later, in April 2016, it was announced that satellite broadcasting of Ukraine Today would be stopped as a cost saving measure. It would move to being an online-only service.[ Most of the staff, including Ukraine Today's Tom Bell, moved to the Ukrainian broadcaster UA TV.
]
Format
According to the channel, its primary focus is on Ukrainian current affairs, with additional editorial focuses including EU expansion and integration, Russian relations with Europe and America, the defence of European values in both Ukraine and within the EU itself, and the challenges of nation-building in the 21st century.Euronews
Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective.
The majority of Euron ...
style content on 14 August 2014.
See also
* Media of Ukraine
* International broadcasting
International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I, when German and British stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code. With the severing of Germany's undersea cables, the wireless telegraph station in Nauen was ...
References
External links
*
1+1 Media Group page
Ukraine Today
on VKontakte
Ukraine Today presented to British audience
{{1+1 Media Group
Defunct television stations in Ukraine
Television channels and stations established in 2014
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2016
2014 establishments in Ukraine
2016 disestablishments in Ukraine
Companies based in Kyiv
1+1 Media Group