«Rossiya 1» State TV Deputy General Director held a master class at the Institute of Media

In the world of «TV without rules», only a few people know by what laws one of the most closed industries lives.

 

Alexander Nechaev, Deputy General Director of VGTRK, Programming Director of the “Rossiya-1” channel, met with students of the Media Institute and answered the most pressing questions:

Why is the number of TV viewers constantly growing in proportion to the announcement of the death of TV? What will the audience switch to  in the coming years, and how to lure it away?

According to Mr. Nechaev, the most important thing for modern media, regardless of their format, is a broad representation within Russia. Therefore, "Rossiya-1" works in every Russian region in 54 languages - it is required by the ethnic and cultural diversity of the country. But we are not united only by broadcasting! TV viewing leaders have created the largest network of cable channels in Russia - whether viewers like hunting, healthy lifestyle, cartoons or TV shows, everyone can find a channel according to their preferences.

Alexander Nechaev
Deputy General Director of VGTRK, Program Director of the Rossiya-1 channel

- Any TV channel is essentially a playlist in modern terms. A certain set of products following each other. An important element of the answer to the question whether the channel is successful or not is how much this playlist is addressed to those who are interested in it and how well it is created, - notes Alexander Nechaev. 

This is why the”battle”  for the love and attention of the audience is won only by those who understand it.

- The grid of any channel is a “living fabric”, - says the Deputy General Director of VGTRK, - you can't just come up with it and continue to enjoy success in a warm place with a beautiful cocktail umbrella, receiving SMS messages with praise.

The request for a multi-platform system is also an element in the mosaic of media success. In 2020, the "Smotrim" platform was launched. Nowadays this application combines not only VGTRK products. According to last year's results, "Smotrim" took third place in terms of coverage among all Russian platforms that broadcast professional content. The number of new subscribers to the resource is growing daily, therefore, no complex mathematical calculations are required to predict the holding's victory on the Internet.

- We have calculated that we produce more than 150 hours of original content per year. And we thought about the digital transformation of VGTRK because we produce so much. It is vital  that we invent it ourselves, as a team, without involving third-party experts, - says Nechaev.

 

This is not the first victory over major federal players on the account of the media manager. Thanks to Alexander Nechaev, NTV managed to beat Channel One at one time, and as for VGTRK, the holding has been collecting high shares and ratings for seven years.

At the master class Alexander Nechaev told students how TV audience measurements take place, what products viewers always like, and which trends are now taken into account in the holding when forming the broadcast network and launching new projects.

This meeting, which was supposed to last  for an hour and a half, was twice as long: the audience wanted to ask a lot of questions to a person who had never shared professional secrets before and rarely gave interviews. However, they will still have the opportunity to communicate with the leader of the media industry - very soon Alexander Nechaev will teach media students and they will get unique first-hand knowledge.

 Text: Valeria Popova

Translation: Yanina Drankeevich