RT UK

RT UK is a British free-to-air television news channel, part of the RT (TV network), a Russian state-controlled international television network funded by the federal tax budget of the Russian government.[1] The channel's head is Nikolay Bogachikhin.[2]

RT UK
CountryUnited Kingdom
Broadcast areaUnited Kingdom
NetworkRT
SloganQuestion more
HeadquartersMillbank Tower, London
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner(ANO) TV-Novosti (Under Russia Today TV UK Limited)
Sister channelsRT International
RT America
RT France
RT Arabic
RT Documentary
RT Actualidad
RT Deutsch
Links
Websitert.com/uk
Availability
Terrestrial
FreeviewChannel 113 (HD)
Channel 234 (SD)
Satellite
FreesatChannel 206 (SD/HD)
Sky UKChannel 511 (SD/HD)
Channel 879 (SD)
Astra 2G
(28.2°E)		11224 V 23000 2/3 (HD)
11568 V 22000 5/6 (SD)
Streaming media
Live streamOn Air
Virgin TV AnywhereWatch live (Ireland only)

The channel's studios are located in Millbank Tower. The channel offers four hours of its own programming per day, Monday to Friday UK News at 7 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm and 10 pm. On Fridays there is no 10 pm UK News bulletin. The RT UK News anchor is Bill Dod. Like its counterpart in the United States, it simulcasts RT International at all other times. RT UK serves as the home and production base of RT's UK-based programmes. RT UK is the channel RT delivers to United Kingdom satellite providers. The channel is also available online through RT's website, along with RT International, RT Documentary and RT America.

The UK media regulator, Ofcom, has repeatedly found RT to have breached its rules on impartiality and on one occasion found it had broadcast "materially misleading" content.[3][4][5]

Launch

The channel was launched on 30 October 2014. RT UK focuses on covering the United Kingdom. RT presenter Afshin Rattansi stated that the channel's position is "to challenge dominant power structures in Britain by broadcasting live and original programming with a progressive UK focus", and it is "not subject to the metropolitan elite's London bias" since its "news will come from right across the country".[6]

Richard Sambrook, former director of global news at the BBC and director of the Centre of Journalism at Cardiff University was quoted as saying "It's a surprising move to focus resources on the UK. It's not a commercial proposition, therefore the main purpose must be to gain influence. It's about soft power for the Kremlin".[7] In a pre-launch statement, RT correspondent Polly Boiko said "So much is made of how RT is funded. It's been cast as the Big Bad Wolf of the news media landscape," and "I think many of us... see the launch of RT UK as an opportunity to shake off the accusations levelled at the channel".[8]

Incidents

Relations with British regulators

Ahead of the launch of its UK-specific broadcasts, RT said that adverts promoting the channel had been rejected by ad agencies because they felt they would be illegal under UK laws on political advertising. The network posted versions of the adverts on billboards and its website with the word "redacted" on them in an alleged protest. The UK Advertising Standards Authority said it had not banned the ads or even received any complaint about them.[9]

The UK broadcast regulator Ofcom had repeatedly reprimanded the international version of RT for its failure to remain impartial.[7] In July 2014, London-based RT International correspondent Sara Firth resigned, after five years with the channel, calling its coverage of the MH17 disaster, "straw that broke the camel’s back".[10] Shortly after the RT UK operation was launched, Ofcom said sanctions would be imposed if further breaches of the broadcasting code occurred.[11]

In September 2015, Ofcom found RT in breach of the impartiality rules in its coverage of the events in Ukraine and Syria. It also upheld the complaint by the BBC that allegations made in an episode of The Truthseeker that a BBC Panorama film, Saving Syria's Children, had faked a parts of a report on a chemical weapon attack in Syria were "materially misleading".[12][13][14] In another episode of The Truthseeker, named Genocide of Eastern Ukraine, they stated that the Ukrainian government was deliberately bombing civilians, had murdered and tortured journalists, as well as crucifying babies. Ukrainian army forces were accused of "ethnic cleansing" and were compared to the Nazis in World War Two. The only response to the allegations in the broadcast was in the form of a caption saying "Kiev claims it is not committing genocide, denies casualty reports", which appeared on screen for six seconds. According to Ofcom the broadcast had "little or no counterbalance or objectivity".[12] A spokesperson for the media regulator said: "Ofcom found that RT broadcast content that was either materially misleading or not duly impartial. These are significant failings and we are therefore requiring RT to broadcast two clear statements on our decision which correct these failures."[15]

In December 2018, Ofcom ruled that seven programmes broadcast by RT between 17 March and 26 April of that year, in the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attacks, had breached the UK's impartiality rules; the BBC reported that RT was "extremely disappointed by Ofcom's conclusions".[16][17] RT was fined £200,000 but kept its licence to broadcast in the UK.[18]

Threatened closure of banking facilities

In October 2016, RT published a letter sent to "Russia Today TV UK Ltd" by NatWest bank informing the company that it intended to cease the banking facilities provided to it by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, of which NatWest is a subsidiary.[19][20] RT's editor in Moscow, Margarita Simonyan, tweeted in Russian: "They closed our accounts in Britain. All of them. 'Decision not to be discussed'. Long live freedom of speech!" and Russian MPs, the foreign ministry and human rights officials all condemned the move.[21]

The Russian embassy in London described the move as an "openly political decision", however the British government, which since the 2008 financial crisis has owned the majority of shares in the RBS group, denied being responsible for the bank's actions.[19][21] NatWest subsequently said that it had written to one of RT's suppliers, not to the station itself, and that it would review the decision. RT itself said the company provides all RT services in the UK.[19]

The decision by NatWest/RBS to end banking services was reversed in late January 2017.[22]

Responses to coverage

Oliver Kamm wrote in The Times in October 2016: "For purportedly expert analysis of world events, RT turns to an assortment of racists, neo-Nazis, UFO buffs, 9/11 conspiracy theorists and obscure fantasists. Admittedly it's also been commended for balance and fairness – by the British National Party."[23] He continued: "This is not a normal news outlet but a conspiracy of fraudsters in the service of a murderous autocracy".[23] In The Observer, Nick Cohen wrote in November 2015 that the channel "feeds the huge western audience that wants to believe that human rights are a sham and democracy a fix. Believe that and you will ask: what right have we to criticise Putin? At least he is honest in his way".[24]

RT UK programming

RT programmes on RT UK

On air staff
News anchors
  • Bill Dod (2014—)[41]
  • Kate Partridge
Correspondents

References
  1. Nimmo, Ben. "Question That: RT's Military Mission". Atlantic Council-Digital Forensic Research Lab. medium.com. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. "Inside Russia Today..." BBC Radio 4. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  3. William Turvill (15 November 2012). "Ofcom rules against Russia Today over Syria conflict report". Press Gazette. Progressive Media International. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  4. "UK regulator Ofcom backs BBC in Russian TV case". BBC News. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  5. Plunkett, John (10 November 2014). "Russia Today threatened with Ofcom sanctions due to bias". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  6. "RT launches dedicated UK news channel - RT UK".
  7. Chris Johnston. "Russia Today launches UK version in new soft power onslaught". the Guardian.
  8. Osborn, Andrew (30 October 2014). "Kremlin-funded broadcaster lauded by Putin starts TV news channel in UK". Reuters UK. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  9. Patrick Smith. "Everything You Need To Know About Russia Today UK". BuzzFeed.
  10. Plunkett, John (18 July 2014). "Russia Today reporter resigns in protest at MH17 coverage". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  11. Ennis, Stephen (16 November 2014). "Russia's global media operation under the spotlight". BBC News.
  12. "UK regulator Ofcom backs BBC in Russian TV case". BBC News. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  13. "Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin" (PDF) (288). Ofcom. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  14. Burrell, Ian (21 September 2015). "Broadcaster RT misled viewers and breached broadcasting rules, says Ofcom". The Independent. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  15. Jackson, Jasper (21 September 2015). "RT sanctioned by Ofcom over series of misleading and biased articles". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  16. "Russian news channel RT broke TV impartiality rules, Ofcom says". BBC News Online. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  17. "Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin" (PDF) (369). Ofcom. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  18. Waterson, Jim (26 July 2019). "RT fined £200,000 for breaching impartiality rules". The Guardian.
  19. "RT: NatWest denies shutting accounts of Russian TV channel". BBC News. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  20. Rothwell, James (18 October 2016). "NatWest backs down over threat to freeze Russia Today's bank account". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  21. Harding, Luke; Walker, Shaun (17 October 2016). "Russia Today's UK bank accounts closed down, says editor". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  22. Jackson, Jasper (30 January 2017). "NatWest reverses decision to close RT's bank accounts in UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  23. Kamm, Oliver (18 October 2016). "It's time we turned the heat up on Putin's lie machine". The Times. London. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  24. Cohern, Nick (8 November 2014). "Russia Today: why western cynics lap up Putin's TV poison". The Observer. London. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  25. "Going Underground". RT.
  26. "Afshin Rattansi — RT". RT International.
  27. Keiser Report page at the RT website
  28. "Sam Delaney's News Thing" page at the RT website
  29. "Sputnik". RT.
  30. "Boom Bust".
  31. On the Money page at RT.com.
  32. In The Now page at RT.com.
  33. Larry King Now page at RT.com.
  34. Politicking page at RT.com.
  35. "Redacted Tonight". rt.com.
  36. "Watching the Hawks".
  37. SophieCo page at RT.com.
  38. The Big Picture page at RT.com.
  39. "Venture Capital". RT English.
  40. "Worlds Apart". rt.com.
  41. "Bill Dod — RT". RT International.
  42. "Martyn Andrews — RT". RT International.
  43. "Laura Smith — RT". RT International.
  44. "Polly Boiko — RT". RT International.
  45. "Eisa M Ali — RT". RT International.
  46. "Anastasia Churkina — RT". RT International.
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