Baltic Media Group (BMG)

Assets

For January, 2015 BMG possess 84% of stocks of Komsomolskaya Pravda publishing house. Except that the founder of BMG Oleg Rudnov headed Board of Directors of ID it also controlled the majority of seats in this council. At the same time operationally the newspaper was never included into BMG, the CEO of ID Vladimir Sungorkin did not submit directly to top managers of holding, tells a source in KP.

After Rudnov's death in January, 2015 BMG passed under Aram Gabrelyanov's management. According to Sungorkin, transition of KP under Gabrelyanov's management was not discussed. Gabrelyanov confirmed that the issue of KP with it was not discussed^[1].

History

2003: Oleg Rudnov headed BMG

Since 1997 Oleg Rudnov held a post of the CEO of Radio Baltika radio station, and in 2003 he organized and headed the Baltic media group which integrated:

• Radio Baltika,
• 100TB TV channel,
• Nevskoye Vremya newspapers,
• "Change",
• "Evening St. Petersburg",
• Baltic news agency.

Rudnov was very close to brothers Kovalchukam, media of his media group were serviced by Bank Rossiya. All of them were attributed to a circle of friends of Vladimir Putin.

2007: Oleg Rudnov headed Board of Directors of Komsomolskaya Pravda

As it became known in July, 2007, the chairman of the board of directors of ID Komsomolskaya Pravda (RC), Oleg Rudnov heading the Baltic media group (St. Petersburg) is appointed. It was reported that mister Rudnov is a business partner of Yury Kovalchuk, the co-owner of Bank Rossiya and the close friend president Vladimir Putin Drug^[2].

2014: Negotiations on sale of TV channel 100TB

In 2014 100TB experienced financial difficulties, there were even talks about its sale.

2015

Oleg Rudnov's death

On January 9, 2015 the head of the Baltic media group Oleg Rudnov died. He died in one of foreign clinics, reported sources of Business St. Petersburg. To Oleg Rudnov it became bad on January 6 then he was hospitalized.

Many cultural figures and arts came to Rudnov's funeral, including — the writer Daniil Granin. Also the St. Petersburg city's mayor Georgy Poltavchenko, the head of the Leningrad Region Alexander Drozdenko, the speaker of city parliament Vyacheslav Makarov, the vice governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Govorunov and also deputies of Legislative Assembly participated in a ceremony. Judging by pictures from a funeral to say goodbye to Rudnov also the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin arrived to St. Petersburg.

BMG passes under Aram Gabrelyanov's management

After the death of the founder of BMG Oleg Rudnov the actual control over the company is received by Aram Gabrelyanov.

Aram Gabrelyanov said RBC that Rudnov about half a year to the death suggested to direct this media group to it. It was supposed that Rudnov will remain the chairman of the board of directors of holding, and Gabrelyanov will manage. Of the arrangement the head of News ​Media after Rudnov's death was reminded by his son, Gabrelyanov agreed. Gabrelyanov said that the holding is in "a deplorable status" at this time, but claimed that he deeply did not plunge into its affairs. Among assets of group "" he considered the most powerful "100 TV": "It has the frequency, the equipment, it is watched a little, but look".

At this time BMG, in addition to TV channel 100TB and Baltika, include radio "Zenit" and also the newspapers "Smena", "Nevskoye vremya", "Vechernee vremya", the agency of advertizing technologies Baltika and the news agency "Baltinfo".

Gabrelyanov claimed that he does not know anything about the fate of a share block of Rudnov in Komsomolskaya pravda Ltd, but remembers that at a meeting Rudnov mentioned that it has stocks of this company. According to the source, close to top management of the Baltic media group, Rudnov possessed about 60% of this publishing house^[3].

Closing of news agency, all printing newspapers and 100TB

Aram Gabrelyanov actively gets rid of non-profitable assets of BMG. In the summer of 2015 it liquidated the Baltic news agency and reformats 100TB channel on an analog of the Moscow LifeNews. Start of new TV channel under Life78 brand was planned for the end of September, but then postponed.

In September, 2015 it became known that "The Baltic media group" which president is Aram Gabrelyanov closed all newspapers of holding — Change, Evening St. Petersburg and Nevsky Time. The solution explained the management of group with the fact that printed media are not perspective.

The newspapers entering into BMG have almost centenary history. "Evening St. Petersburg" is published since 1917, till 1991 left under the name "Evening Leningrad". The Smena newspaper is founded in 1919. "The Nevsky time" — the youngest of the BMG newspapers, conducts history since 1991. Total circulation of three editions — 36 thousand copies.

Earlier Gabrelyanov said in an interview of lenizdat.ru that he does not see perspectives for development of newspapers of the St. Petersburg holding. "My position on newspapers clear — I consider that the paper market collapses and in the nearest future it will collapse absolutely" — it is categorical.

Since August, 2015 100 TV video topics are uploaded to the website with a design of LifeNews and in format 16:9. In the last days of broadcasting the TV channel actively showed the Open University program.

On October 5, 2015 at 1:10 a.m. in the night the TV channel stopped the broadcasting, all night long there was a preparation for start of new TV channel. On air at first there was a checkerboard pattern, then there was a certain similarity of hours. Also this day the website tv100.ru was closed.

Notes