Stop broadcasting Russian channel packages Tricolor and NTV-Plus accused of fueling pro-Putin propaganda. This is what the Diderot Committee, an organization created in March 2022 by two media experts, André Lange and Jim Phillipoff, the latter being the founder of the Ukrainian satellite platform XTra TV, is asking Eutelsat for. After having launched an online petition on April 5, the committee sent, on May 7, on the occasion of the investiture of Emmanuel Macron, a letter to the French President in which he “is surprised that chains [russes] whose regular statements exceed the limits of freedom of expression defined in international treaties continue to be transmitted by satellites owned by the company Eutelsat (…) for the benefit of its two Russian customers NTV-Plus and Tricolor”. France is Eutelsat’s largest shareholder, with 20% of its capital held by Bpifrance.
NTV-Plus, a subsidiary of Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, and Tricolor are broadcast in Russia by satellite 36 B, operated by Eutelsat, and its cousin 36 C, leased by the French operator. If Eutelsat ceased their broadcasting, the place could be reallocated to Western channels, such as CNN and BBC World, banned from broadcasting in Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, the committee proposes. These two satellites irrigate 25% to 30% of Russian territory.
Comply with the law
Eutelsat, which achieves approximately 6% of its annual turnover with Russian customers, has taken note of the requests of the Diderot Committee. But the satellite operator says it is complying with the law. “Eutelsat has always adopted a position of neutrality and respects the decisions of the regulatory authorities on which it depends. At this stage, no regulator or other competent authority has asked us to stop broadcasting NTV-Plus and Tricolor in Russia”explains Eutelsat, which specifies that the foreign chains which were withdrawn from the Russian bouquets are visible in clear in Russia via its Hotbird satellites.
After becoming aware on May 5 of ” the intention of the European Union to sanction three Russian channels in the near future, two of which are broadcast on [ses] satellites »RTR Planeta and Rossiya 24, Eutelsat “stands ready to immediately cease its distribution as soon as the corresponding European regulation is published”. The operator recalls having cut off the RT France signal as soon as the sanctions against various Russian interests were formalized on 1er March.
The group, which presents itself as a “technical platform”, fears that a breach of its neutrality will open the way to multiple requests for intervention that do not comply with the regulatory framework. The Diderot Committee also recognizes that the ball is now in the court of the authorities.