Eutelsat confirms Russian, Iranian channel suspension
December 22, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Eutelsat has issued a statement confirming that, on December 21st, it had “ended all involvement in the broadcasting of three [Russian] channels Rossiya One, Pervyi Kanal and NTV, within the prescribed 7-day compliance period.”
“Pursuant to the Council of the European Union (EU) Regulation 2022/2474 of 16 December 2022, these three channels as well as a fourth, RenTV, will be subject to sanctions if so confirmed by the Council by 1 February 2023, in accordance with the notice 2022/C 481 I/04 released by the Council on 19 December 2022,” stated Eutelsat.
“In the process of implementing or preparing for the implementation of the aforementioned measures, Eutelsat has also ensured that it is not involved in the broadcasting of RT News in Russia. Moreover, Eutelsat reviews on a regular basis its distribution partners globally to ensure that the provisions of Article 2(f) of EU Regulation 2014/833 on the broadcasting prohibition of certain Russian channels are fully respected,” the statement added.
With regards to Iran, the statement said: “Pursuant to the Council of the EU Regulation 2022/2428 dated 12 December 2022, Eutelsat has ceased all Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB)-related broadcasting activity.”
The financial impact was also mentioned, with Eutelsat saying: “For FY 2022-2023, the implementation of these measures is estimated to have a negative combined impact of between 10 and 15 million euros on Group Revenues, and of between 15 and 20 million euros on EBITDA, taking account of related collection costs and risks. The estimated impact on the Group’s Adjusted Discretionary Free Cash Flow for FY 2022-2023 is c. 10 million euros.”