Echo of Moscow

Performance indicators

2015

Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Media Mikhail Lesin said in November 2014 at a meeting with the Echo of Moscow team that the radio station would become unprofitable in 2015.

2013

According to BIR Analytics, in 2013, Echo of Moscow's revenue amounted to 368.4 million rubles, net profit - 17.2 million rubles.

Audience

2014

"I do not want to discuss the myths that you are a successful, commercially profitable radio station. It's all a word game. Look at the budget for next year - there is a minus, "said Lesin Mikhail, Chairman of the Board of Gazprom-Media, said in November 2014 at a meeting with the Echo of Moscow team. "You're radio station 55 + today. Since 1991, your audience has aged as well as the radio station. This is true, supported by TNS research. The share of young is very small. And this is the hardest problem for the advertising market. 70% of the Echo budget is formed from dietary supplements and other medicines. The advertiser does not want to buy inventory at Echo of Moscow, "Lesin added

History

2022: Liquidation of the radio channel and the Ekho Moskvy website during the special operation of Russia in Ukraine

"Echo of Moscow" is off the air - said March 1, 2022 the chief editor of the radio station Alexei Venediktov against the background of Russia's military special operation in Ukraine.

Following the consideration of the Submission of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation on eliminating violations of the legislation regarding the Ekho Moskvy media, on March 3, 2022, by a majority of votes of the Ekho Moskvy board of directors, a decision was made to eliminate the Ekho Moskvy radio channel and website.

2019: Re-election of Venediktov as chief editor

2014

Change of CEO

On February 18, 2014, the powers of Yuri Fedutinov, who served as general director of Echo of Moscow since 1992, were terminated ahead of schedule. His place was taken by the former top manager of the Voice of Russia radio, Ekaterina Pavlova^[1].

Representatives of Gazprom Media explained the change of general director solely for economic reasons. Fedutinov himself noted that this is possibly part of the upcoming restructuring of the entire holding. Nevertheless, in an interview with Ленте.ру, the editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow, Alexei Venediktov, called Fedutinov's sudden resignation a "political decision." According to Venediktov, several facts testify to this at once: Echo of Moscow is a profitable project, the reasons for the resignation of Yuri Fedutinov were not named, and the minority shareholders of the radio station were not provided with information about the new general director. As noted by Venediktov, Echo lawyers are checking the legality of Gazprom Media's actions.

Liquidation of a separate sales service

On February 19, 2014, it became known that advertising on Echo of Moscow will be sold in a common package with advertising on other radio of the ProfMedia holding. This was reported by the newspaper Vedomosti. Earlier, the advertising placement on Echo was dealt with by its own sales department of the radio station.

The decision to merge the advertising departments of ProfMedia and Echo of Moscow was made by the management of Gazprom Media. Gazprom Media controls all assets of ProfMedia, and is also the largest shareholder of Echo (the holding owns 66 percent of the shares of the radio station). The creation of a single package, which would include all advertising offers at Echo, Vedomosti was confirmed by First Deputy General Director of Gazprom Media Vladimir Shemyakin and President of the ProfMedia Broadcasting Corporation Yuri Kostin.

According to Shemyakin, it was the need to "integrate" Echo into the single structure of the holding "that was caused by the earlier change of the general director of Echo of Moscow.

Echo of Moscow will sell content to TV channels

The Ekho Moskvy radio station plans to create a company that will produce content for TV channels in Russia and abroad. The project can be launched in 2015.

This was reported by ITAR-TASS chief editor of the radio station Alexei Venediktov. He explained that the project is at the initial stage of development. The plans of the radio station are to create a production studio that will sell content to Russian and foreign television channels. "It's not just television - it's television and radio. The question is how to televise radio content so that people perceive it as television, a visual product, "said Alexei Venediktov.

Gazprom Media refused to sell its stake in Echo of Moscow

In August 2014, it became known that the Gazprom-Media media holding refused to sell its stake in Ekho Moskvy radio station (66%) to minority shareholders.

The editor-in-chief and co-owner of Echo of Moscow, Alexei Venediktov, said that on August 6 he learned about this at a meeting with Gazprom Media Chairman Mikhail Lesin, at which the issue of buying out the radio station was raised.

"Mikhail Lesin, as the head of the majority shareholder, said that Gazprom Media does not intend to sell its stake in Echo of Moscow. The meeting was informal in nature, so we have not yet received official notifications for a request to search for an evaluator, "Venediktov told ITAR-TASS

Earlier it was reported that minority shareholders of Echo of Moscow are going to conduct an assessment of the company for the subsequent purchase of securities from Gazprom Media.

As of August 2014, minority shareholders - radio station journalists and entrepreneur Vladimir Gusinsky, own almost 34% of Echo of Moscow. Gazprom Media owns about 66% of the radio station.

2015

"Echo of St. Petersburg" will stop broadcasting

The general director of the Echo of Moscow radio station, Mikhail Demin, decided to revoke the license from Echo of St. Petersburg. This was announced on Twitter in February 2015 by the assistant editor-in-chief of Echo Lesya Ryabtseva. In support of her words, Ryabtsev published a document stating that March 16, 2015 is the last day when the St. Petersburg division will own a broadcasting license in the frequency of 91.5 MHz.

The editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow, Alexei Venediktov, confirmed to Interfax that Demin had indeed sent a letter on the termination of the contract with Musical Factor, which broadcasts Echo of St. Petersburg. He noted that the general director is already looking for another company that could broadcast a radio station in the northern capital.

Olga Bychkova, editor-in-chief of the radio station in St. Petersburg, told Snob that she had not seen the order to close the St. Petersburg unit. In her opinion, Demin decided to close due to a conflict between majoritarians and minority shareholders of the station over the appointment of the general director of Echo of St. Petersburg.

"I don't know what will happen to the employees and what will happen to the radio station. I hope that within that month, until the Demin decision comes into force, reason will prevail. Me and Echo of Moscow want the station and journalists to continue working. We have a lot of plans on how to make the radio station better, "said Bychkova. She was appointed to the post of chief editor at the end of January 2015

On January 20, Demin said that the St. Petersburg station was unprofitable, because of which the metropolitan leadership insisted on its candidate for the post of general director - Svetlana Sakharova, St. Petersburg minority shareholders sought this position for Sergei Nedovodin. The powers of the current general director of St. Petersburg "Echo" Yuri Fedutinov expire on February 19, 2015.

Demin stated that if a compromise is not found, Echo of Moscow will not renew the franchise agreement with Musical Factor.

Mikhail Demin came to control the radio station at the end of December 2014, after Dmitry Chernyshenko took over as chairman of the board of Gazprom Media holding. Together they were preparing the Sochi Olympics: Chernyshenko was president of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, and Demin was PR director.

Notes