PR Web: RT Gains Popularity On YouTube

PR Web: RT Gains Popularity On YouTube

MOSCOW (Vocus/PRWEB ) February 3, 2010 -- In December 2009 RT ranked among the top 20 most popular channels on YouTube. In the past three months RT’s video materials on YouTube had more than 200,000 views a month on average (http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday). By early December, RT became the most viewed channel in the international YouTube and held its top position nearly 48 hours.

The overall number of videos viewed has exceeded 70 million which let RT enter the top most viewed channels in YouTube’s history in the Directors news category.

Google, the owner of the world’s most popular video hosting site, did not leave these results unattended – in 2010 the Internet search engine flagship is going to expand its co-operation with RT by placing its partner network’s ads on the RT channel page on YouTube.

“We are glad that our partnership has reached a new level, and now the videos published on RT will be not only a source of information for its numerous visitors but also a source for income – for Russia Today itself. We hope that other companies will follow suit,” – Vladimir Dolgov, Head of Google Russia, said.

“The interest in RT has been growing exponentially, literally speaking. I think it is due to our offering an alternative view on the news. We provide stories you will never find in the mainstream media, therefore our viewers from the USA write in their feedback comments: “If you want to know the truth about America, watch the Russian channel RT,” – Margarita Simonyan, Editor-in-Chief, RT, said.

In the US, RT TV English is available in select markets: MhZ in Washington, D.C. Metro area; in New York, NY it is carried by Time Warner; FIOS, and Dish Network elsewhere. Its webcast is available at www.rt.com/live .

In addition to the 24/7 TV newsfeed in English, RT has feeds in Arabic and a newly-launched feed in Spanish, all distributed via satellite from Moscow, Russia, as well as online, at www.rt.com.

Boris Shmelyov, head of the Center for Political Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Economy Institute, welcomed the government's decision, saying the move would help Russia solve a large number of problems on the domestic air carrier market.

"After the breakup of the Soviet Union, a host of small airlines emerged," he said. "But life has shown that these companies are weak, noncompetitive and unable to ensure a high level of operations."

Shmelyov said the biggest problem of the small carriers, known in 1990s as "babyflots" was to provide for the repair and maintenance of aircraft.

The decline of air safety in the post-Soviet years has led to dozens of major air crashes which have claimed thousands of life. A series of recent checks have shown that small companies tend to save on quality spare parts and maintenance work creating additional risks.

The decision to merge Aeroflot with six smaller companies contradicted previous plans by the government to consolidate small regional air carriers into a large state-owned company Rosavia to create a competitor for Aeroflot.

The plans emerged after dozens of small regional airlines, burdened with heavy debts and hit by ineffective management, failed to provide quality services, canceling flights and leaving passengers stranded at airports without any compensation.

Tuesday's move will increase Aeroflot's domestic market share from 15-20% to 30-35%. Critics argue that the decision could turn Aeroflot, the sole air carrier during the Soviet period, into a monopoly on the domestic market and make it less competitive.

Shmelyov said the concentration of the market in these conditions was a natural process as three to four big air companies instead of dozens of small airlines would be enough to deal with international and domestic demand.

"To avoid collusion, there is the anti-trust body to keep an eye on this process. I believe that Aeroflot's enlargement is a normal and natural process in line with current trends and the logic of economic development," Shmelyov said.

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Len Blavatnik is among the second-round suitors for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., distributor of the James Bond movies, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

Advancing to the second round gives suitors access to more detailed information before making a formal bid for the Los Angeles-based studio, which owns a 4,100-film library and is exploring a sale after failing to make payments on $3.7 billion of debt. Last week, lenders extended a moratorium on interest payments to March 31, allowing more time for negotiations.

“The price has come down so far that it’s attracting non- studio bidders,” said David Davis, managing partner at the entertainment advisory firm Arpeggio Partners in Santa Monica, California.

Matthew Harrigan, an analyst with Wunderlich Securities, estimated last month the company is worth $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion. When the studio put itself up for sale in November, MGM creditors sought at least $2 billion, people with knowledge of the situation said then.

Tough to Compete

Blavatnik may be at a disadvantage because he doesn’t own a film distribution business, Davis said in an interview. Studio bidders would likely plan to close MGM’s distribution unit to reduce costs, he said.

“I don’t see how companies that don’t own motion-picture distribution systems can compete on bidding,” he said. “You have big overhead savings.”

Blavatnik’s bid marks an effort by the Ukrainian-born industrialist to expand in the U.S. Blavatnik, a U.S. citizen, is chairman of New York-based Access Industries Holdings LLC, which owns a stake in Top Up TV, a U.K. pay television service, and in 2008 acquired control of the U.K. arm of actor/director Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions Inc., the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph reported at the time.

A spokesman for Blavatnik declined to comment, as did Susie Arons, an outside spokeswoman for MGM. Ed Adler, with New York- based Time Warner, and Courtnee Ulrich of Liberty Media also wouldn’t comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Time Warner offered less than $2 billion in cash for MGM, citing people familiar with the matter.

Other Suitors

In addition to those bidders, News Corp., parent of Twentieth Century Fox, and Qualia Capital LLC, led by Amir Malin and Ken Schapiro, have each proposed restructuring the debt and injecting cash to recapitalize the company, people with knowledge of the process said last week. Both companies are based in New York.

News Corp. is unlikely to win the bidding because others are more interested, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch said on a conference call yesterday.

MGM will probably seek a so-called pre-packaged bankruptcy to complete a sale, said Clark Hallren, managing director at the Los Angeles-based entertainment advisory firm Clear Scope Partners. The move would eliminate the need for MGM’s owners to get approval from each of the company’s 140 creditors, he said.

“You’ve got to have a bankruptcy as a matter of process,” said Hallren, who worked for 23 years in JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s entertainment banking division. “There’s no way you’re going to get 140 people to agree to anything.”

Lions Gate

Lions Gate is talking with One Equity Partners, a private equity investment arm of JPMorgan Chase, about becoming a partner in its bid, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. In May 2008, Lions Gate agreed to sell a 49 percent stake in its TV Guide Network to One Equity for $123 million.

Blavatnik, 52, was ranked 44th on Forbes magazine’s 2009 list of the 400 richest Americans with a $5 billion fortune made in oil and gas. He emigrated to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union in 1978 and studied at Columbia University and Harvard Business School before founding Access Industries in 1986, according to the magazine.

In June, Blavatnik offered $33 million in an unsuccessful bid for a stake in Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports, BBC News reported at the time.

Lyondell Link

MGM Vice-Chairman Stephen F. Cooper, who is leading the studio’s restructuring, also serves as supervisory board vice chairman and head of the restructuring committee at LyondellBasell Industries, partly owned by Blavatnik’s Access Industries. The company’s U.S. operation, Lyondell Chemical Co., filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009.

With backing from New York-based Elliott Management, Kavanaugh, 35, finances movies for Sony Corp. and NBC Universal’s Universal Pictures and produces films through his Relativity Media LLC, based in West Hollywood, California. Relativity Media and Elliott Management declined to comment, according to Scott Tagliarino, a spokesman for both.

Relativity has helped finance movies including “Fast and Furious,” “Hancock” and “Mamma Mia!” according to a July 2009 statement from the company.

MGM, created in 1924, made films including “The Wizard of Oz” and “Ben Hur.” The company sold many of its early pictures prior to its 2005 buyout by a group led by private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and TPG. It released one picture in 2009 and has a co-production deal with Warner Bros. on the planned film “The Hobbit.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Ronald Grover in Los Angeles at rgrover@bloomberg.net; Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 3, 2010 20:28 EST