Big redistribution: Ukrainian authorities forced the ex-regional party to sell a popular radio station

The investment holding Dragon Capital has completed a deal to purchase the popular TV and entertainment complex “Radio-Era” in Ukraine.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at Telegram, Facebook,  Classmates or In contact with

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube, TikTok и Viber.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

About it reported on the company website, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.

“The radio station will become another important asset in the structure of the media property of Dragon Capital, which already owns the socio-political magazine “Novoe Vremya” and the Internet information portal of the same name. Since its launch in 2014, both the magazine and the website have become one of the leaders in their segments.

Vitaly Sych, editor-in-chief of the magazine and website “New Time,” will continue to oversee all media in the Dragon Capital portfolio.

The head of the Radio-Era FM project will be Valery Kalnysh, who previously headed the Kommersant newspaper, Vesti radio, as well as the RBC-Ukraine Internet portal, the company said in a statement.

“We are pleased that the company’s media portfolio has been supplemented by the oldest talk radio station in the country with a rich history, and we do not yet plan revolutionary changes at the radio station,” said Tomas Fiala, CEO of Dragon Capital.

At the same time, the ex-owners of the Radio-Era TV and Radio Broadcasting Company are announcing a forced sale of the company due to pressure from the authorities. About it says a statement on the Era website.

“We all see that the authorities continue a systemic attack on freedom of speech, which is expressed in constant threats to journalists, unfounded checks, the arrest of journalist Kotsaba, the closure of Vesti radio, long quibbles and insinuations around the TV channels 112 Ukraine and NewsOne, searches at “ 1+1”, arson of “Inter”, pressure on the Zik TV channel and its owners, persecution of the website “Strana.ua”, banning social networks,” the statement said.

Former owners note that their company suffered the same fate.

“The process of pressure on us received an unexpected outcome - the sale of a stake to an investor with American roots, who, from the point of view of international legal and political practice, will be able to ensure the protection of the right to independent and professional journalism. The final decision was made only when we became completely confident that the new owners would preserve the core values ​​and principles of our media,” said a statement from Radio-Era.

Let us remind you that on August 16, the official owner of Radio Era, people’s deputy and ex-regional Andrei Derkach, appealed to Petro Poroshenko to prevent unlawful actions by security forces regarding Era journalists and the family of the parliamentarian himself.

Derkach named the reason for the threat as an appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office initiated by him on the basis of a journalistic investigation by “Era” about the illegal activities of former and current representatives of the Ukrainian special services, including representatives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, “namely, regarding interference in the US presidential election.”

And on December 23, 2016, the Concern of Radio Broadcasting, Radio Communications and Television (CRRT) threatened to stop providing telecommunications services to the ERA television and radio company due to a violation of the terms of the contract with the state-owned enterprise regarding payments for services provided.