The Russian business daily Kommersant is set to launch an FM radio station in the capital, according to reports in The Moscow Times.
The radio station will focus on business and financial information and draw on content from its print counterpart.
In an interview with the FT, Lagardère Active chief executive Didier Quillot has said the media operator is looking to expand in China - where it has operated for twenty years and now publishes 16 titles - and Russia, where it is buying up regional radio licences. The shift in focus to Chinese and Russian expansion is intended to help the company remain profitable at a time of declining ad markets in its traditional western market habitat. Mr. Quillot commented:
"When you add growth from the internet, growth from emerging markets and extra growth from the adjustments to our core business, our ambition is to have growth in our turnover in the next three years, despite the advertising recession which has set in in western countries."
MTV Networks has sold its 53% stake in MTV Russia to Prof-Media, a Russian company whose operations span most types of media. Prof-Media will pay MTV Networks a licence fee to operate MTV Russia and its sister channel VH1.
As the Financial Times describes it, MTV's international strategy has 'moved to licensing deals in smaller, less-promising markets while taking ownership stakes in more robust ones'. Its decision to sell in Russia is therefore a surprising one, given that TV ad expenditure grew 36% there last year (and we expect it to grow 32% this year). Bill Roedy - head of MTV International - denies that the sale has been prompted by regulatory or political concerns, implying that it is Russia's volatility that has put him off: 'It's always two steps forward, one step back'.
