From Central to Digital: Television in Russia

international conference

10-11 March 2011

Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow

in collaboration with the University of Leeds, Great Britain

As many other countries anticipating the digital television transition, Russia faces a few formidable challenges, including selecting technical standards, developing new digital content, regulating relationships between platforms and service providers, and balancing between public and commercial interests. The complexity of the process is exacerbated by the sheer size of the country and by uneven development of its regions.

The conference aims to explore social and cultural implications in the transition to digital television by providing an analysis of the regulatory framework, DTV markets, forms of signal delivery, configuration of DTV channels in Russia’s regions, and convergence of media platforms. The conference specifically endeavours to examine the role of digital technologies in transforming the political and cultural landscape of Russian television by looking at internet television channels, multi-regional channel Russia Today, and other delivery platforms. It plans to investigate social and cultural implications of DTV in Russia by focusing on new genres, hybrid forms of media texts, innovative content of DTV programming as well as on the changing role of DTV audiences.

The conference will be held in Moscow at Russian State University for the Humanities.