UPDATE (01.03.) – VGTRK, Channel One and Ostankino radio stations leave the European Broadcasting Union

The move is in response to Russia’s exclusion from the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, according to the Russian news agency TASS – the news is published without changes.

News in Russian from TASS.ru

The All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), First Channel and the Ostankino radio station have announced their withdrawal from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). This was stated in a statement : by the broadcasters on Saturday.

“First Channel, VGTRK and Radiodom Ostankino announce their withdrawal from the European Broadcasting Union as a response to Russia’s exclusion from the Eurovision 2022 song contest, which we regard as an inappropriate political sacrifice in a music forum that has always emphasised its non-political status,” the statement said.

The EBC decided on February 25 that Russia will not be represented in this year’s Eurovision 2022 Song Contest to be held in Turin. The broadcasters said in a statement that Russia’s exclusion from the competition is not the first example related to the Eurovision Song Contest and confirms this non-political status. For example, Ukrainian singer Jamala’s song “1944”, which won the competition in 2016, was an “open political manifesto”, the broadcasters point out. The text also mentions the case of the disqualification of participants from Belarus with the song “I will teach you” in 2021. “These are just two examples out of a long series of similar ones, when the organisers of the competition were biased and selective in their interpretation of the term ‘politics’. Doing the will of the European Union, even though half the members of the EBU are not part of it,” the text reads.

“Unfortunately, the EBU has turned into a club whose members are in unequal conditions. And we consider it impossible for us to stay in it any longer”, summarized the authors of the statement.

Earlier, the public broadcasters of the Baltic states appealed to the European Broadcasting Union to suspend the participation or exclude VGTRK and the First Channel from the organization due to the situation in Ukraine. They called on the EBU to take a tough stance and use all means at its disposal to support and protect the people of Ukraine and its independence.

On 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had decided to conduct a special military operation in response to the appeal of the leaders of the Donbas republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories. The Russian Defence Ministry said that the Russian military was not launching strikes on Ukrainian cities, and that high-precision means were used to disable military infrastructure. Civilians are not threatened, the ministry assured.

TASS news agency article in English

Russia’s State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), Channel One, and the Ostankino radio house announced that they were leaving the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a statement by the broadcasters said on Saturday.

“Channel One, VGTRK and the Ostankino radio house announce their exit from the European Broadcasting Union as a response measure to Russia being excluded from the participation in the Eurovision-2022 song contest which we view as an improper political sacrifice at the music forum which has always emphasized its non-political status,” the statement said.

On February 25, the EBU made a decision that Russia wouldn’t participate in the Eurovision-2022 song contest which will be held in Turin.

Earlier, Baltic broadcasters appealed to the EBU to suspend or cancel the membership of VGTRK and Channel One over the situation in Ukraine. They urged the EBU to adopt a firm stance and use all available means to support and protect the people of Ukraine and its independence.

Editorial comments, additions

The fact that the above-listed Russian broadcasters have left the EBU was not confirmed by the Swiss-based European Broadcasting Union at the time of the TASS news and the publication of our article, nor were the original versions of the Russian broadcasters’ statements found on the websites of VGTRK, Channel One and Ostankino. We will update this article and post an update on our social media pages if there are any updates from any of the parties involved in the case.

UPDATE (22:24): EBU statement on the withdrawal of Russian broadcasters

The EBU is aware of reports that the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (RTR), Channel One Russia and Radio House Ostankino are withdrawing from the EBU. However, we have not received any formal confirmation from our Members at this moment.

The EBU was informed by RTR on Friday that this could be the outcome of suspending Russia from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. However, in light of the unprecedented crisis unfolding in Ukraine, our Executive Board still felt that the inclusion of the Russian entry in this year’s event would undermine the values of the Contest and bring the competition into disrepute.

Our Union is committed to upholding the values of public service media and, as this conflict escalates, our priority must be to ensure all citizens continue to have access to trusted, independent news and information and that journalists are allowed to report freely and safely.

We stand with all our Members who are working under extremely challenging circumstances to bring impartial reporting to their audiences – supporting media freedom must now be a priority for all sides in this conflict.

UPDATE (01. 03. 15:47): EBU statement on Russian members

The EBU Executive Board, in light of ongoing events in Ukraine, has decided to suspend representatives from its three Russian Members (RTR, Channel One and RDO) from serving in its governance groups, including the Executive Board and all Statutory Committees. This follows the decision taken last week to exclude Russia from the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.

In taking this action, the Executive Board took note of the public statement issued by the three Member organizations on 26 February announcing their intention to withdraw from the EBU. A decision taken as a direct result of Russia’s exclusion from the Song Contest. The Members have verbally confirmed to us their intent to leave and we are awaiting their formal confirmation.

The suspension will remain in effect until further notice has been given by the Executive Board.

Source: EBU / TASS / OurVision International