Participants at the forum "Digital Broadcasting in Ukraine". Photo: Khrystyna Drogomyretska/IAB

As Ukraine moves away from analogue signals, many popular regional TV and radio broadcasters are left without a digital license

- "The digitalisation will be quite a backslide. We expect a more monopolistic media environment highly influenced by the authorities", says Kateryna Myasnykova, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Independent Association of Broadcasters (IAB) who recently co-organised the forum "Digital Broadcasting in Ukraine" in Kyiv to discuss the shift.

No digital benefits

Held in September, the IMS-supported forum provided a platform for over a hundred experts and analysts to discuss Ukraine's leap from analogue to digital broadcasting.

Unlike its western neighbours, Ukraine will not be able to enjoy the same benefits from the shift, says Kateryna Myasnykova reflecting on the discussions at the forum.

This is due to the strict policies and criteria of the National Council of TV and Radio Broadcasting, the government body who grants the licenses:

- "In Western Europe the goal of digitalisation was to use the frequencies more efficiently. To give people more information and more to choose from, but in Ukraine because of state policies we will not receive the same digital benefits."

Kateryna Myasnykova, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Independent Association of Broadcasters (IAB). Photo: Khrystyna Drogomyretska/IAB

A worrying development

Although the final cut-off date for analogue signals is not until 2015, the fact that almost 70 broadcasters have been unable to obtain their digital license worries Kateryna Myasnykova, especially in the light of Ukraine's next presidential election:

- "If this continues, there will be no private television broadcasters in many regions for the next presidential election in 2015. In large parts of western Ukraine citizens will only have access to state television. There will be no independent or local information, and state television relies only on state bodies." 

A slightly optimistic outlook for next year

With over 100 members, the Ukrainian Independent Association of Broadcasters is now trying to influence the process by engaging with the parliament.

As the digital broadcasting forum concluded in Kyiv, the head of the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech said they planned to have a hearing on the digitalisation process.

"The digital forum is very important in this process, and by next year we hope to have some good news to discuss", said Kateryna Myasnykova implying that in the shift to digital signals, things can still change for the better.

The fifth International Digital Forum called "Digital Broadcasting in Ukraine" took place in Kyiv in September. Supported by IMS and organised by the Ukrainian Independent Association of Broadcasters and Ukraine's Industrial Television Committee, the forum is a chance for experts in the areas of television, digitalisation and media law to discuss policies, promote transparency and to improve the coordination in the reform process.