American news giant CNN will cease broadcasting on cable networks in Russia at the end of the year, Turner International told Mashable in an emailed statement on Monday.
A Turner spokesperson said the decision was made following the passage of new media laws in Russia.
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?Turner International is assessing its distribution options for CNN in Russia in light of recent changes in Russian media legislation," the statement said. "We are bringing our existing distribution relationships to an end while we do that. We hope to re-enter the market in due course, and will notify our partners of any update about resuming these services. The CNN Moscow bureau operation remains unaffected.?
Denis Rychka, head of media relations for Akado Telecom, which broadcasts CNN, told Mashable by email that his company had received a ?letter signed by vice president of legal affairs [of] Turner Broadcasting System Europe Eleonora Brown,? outlining the decision to cease operations. He did not elaborate on the specifics of the letter. (The independent Russian news outlet Vedemosti reported that another Russian distributer, VimpelCom, said it had received a similar letter from Turner Broadcasting.)
The development comes after moves by Russian President Vladimir Putin to consolidate his control over television and print media in the country in order to limit Western involvement.
After the CNN news broke, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, tweeted: "I remember the day when you could first watch CNN in the USSR. Now the clocks turn backward. So short-sided & anti-modern & sign of fear."
Vedemosti said Russian broadcasters would drop the 24-hour American news channel founded in 1980 by media tycoon Ted Turner after Dec. 31 this year. CNN began broadcasting in Russia in 1993. It has been distributed mostly through cable and satellite networks, and on pay-per-view operators.
In 2010, laws were passed to limit foreign ownership of mass media to no more than 50 percent. Many broadcasters were unable to (or chose not to) bring their corporate structure into compliance with the law, according to Vedemosti. Among them was the U.S.-funded Voice of America as well as Radio France Internationale, the Russian service of the BBC and Deutsche Welle.
In September this year, Russian lawmakers further tightened those laws, limiting foreign ownership of mass media to no more than 20 percent. Putin signed the legislation into law last month. It comes into effect beginning in 2017.