STS Media

STS Media is a media company in Russia. It operates three television channels in Russia: STS, Domashny and DTV (in October 2011 it received an updated design and aired under the new Peretz logo), as well as 31 channels in Kazakhstan and a television company in Moldova with a potential audience of more than 150 million people. The international version of STS is available in the Baltic countries, Germany, Israel and North America. The holding also owns its own television content company, Story First Production.

Aktivs

CTC Media operates three television channels in Russia: STS, Domashny and Peretz, as well as Channel 31 in Kazakhstan, a television company in Moldova and the VTV channel in the Republic of Belarus with a potential audience of more than 150 million people. The international version of STS is available in the USA, Israel, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Kazakhstan. The holding also owns the television production company Story Furst Production, the advertising agency EverST-S, the Videomore.ru social network, and a women's portal Domashniy.ru.

Holding shareholders

2022: VTB withdrew from capital, stake bought by National Media Group

On June 7, 2022, it became known about VTB's withdrawal from the capital of STS Media. The share in the amount was bought by the National Media Group (NMG). The value of the transaction is not called.

The fact that NMG bought out the share of the second shareholder in Media Investments JSC (a legal entity of the STS Media holding, which manages the STS and Domashny TV channels) follows from the accounting statements of the National Media Group, published in SPARK-Interfax.

The explanatory note says that the National Media Group bought 45% of Media Investments from the second shareholder, the nominal value of the package was 450,000 rubles. According to RBC, VTB Banking Group was the second shareholder through the legal entity Clients Strategy Result JSC.

When the National Media Group and VTB, through Media Investments, bought 75% of STS Media from Ivan Tavrin, 18 billion rubles were paid for this package. VTB noted that the bank will not manage STS Media, this will be done by NMG.

After the start of Russia's military special operation in Ukraine, VTB was included in the sanctions list of Great Britain and the United States]. The group reduced its shares in several assets at once, including Post Bank, Dynamo Football Club, as well as Demeter Holding. The representative of NMG clarified to RBC that the deal to sell a stake in STS Media took place even before the imposition of sanctions, as part of the planned consolidation of the package.

According to the results of the first four months of 2022, STS occupied, according to Mediascope measurements, in large cities the sixth place among the most popular channels, Domashny - the seventh. The total average daily share of STS, "Home," "Che" and CTC Love among viewers over four years old in January - April 2022 was 9.6%. For comparison: a similar total indicator of six entertainment channels "Gazprom-Media" (TNT, TV3, "Friday," etc.) - 9.2^[1]

2018

The National Media Group (NMG) media holding and VTB Bank bought STS Media from Ivan Tavrin, Vedomosti was told in the last days of December 2018. The closure of the transaction was confirmed by representatives of both VTB and NMG. As follows from the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, since December 28, 2018, STS Media LLC has been owned by Media Investments JSC, owned by Clients Strategy Result JSC, owned by the Cyprus offshore Templeton Investment Holdings (Cyprus) Limited.

Vyacheslav Murugov is the general director of Media Investments JSC. NMG and VTB are the owners of Media Investments JSC, Vedomosti reported. The shares of ownership and the amount of the transaction were not disclosed, VTB indicated that the purchase price "was attractive" for the bank. The remaining 25% of STS Media is owned by the Cypriot company Telcrest, whose shareholders are also NMG and VTB and the structures of Severstal owner Alexei Mordashov.

2015: STS Media shareholders approve sale of 75 percent of assets to Usmanov holding

STS Media shareholders approved in December 2015 a deal to sell 75 percent of the assets to UTV holding, owned by Alisher Usmanov and Ivan Tavrin. The deal was approved by 62.66 percent of the vote.

Cypriot company Telcrest Investments Limited, which owns 25 percent of STS Media, did not participate in the vote, as it is under the sanctions of the US Treasury. One of the beneficiaries of the company is businessman Yuri Kovalchuk.

2014

As of November 2014, the shareholders of the holding, registered in the US state of Delaware, include the Swedish MTG Russia with a 39% stake. Another owner, the Cypriot offshore Telcrest, associated with the Rossiya bank of businessman Yuri Kovalchuk, owns about 25% of CTC Media. 36% of the holding's securities are in free float on the New York NASDAQ exchange.

The largest shareholder of CTC Media Inc., as of the end of March 2015, is the Swedish Modern Times Group (MTG) with a package of 38.53 percent. 25.4 percent of the company belongs to the Cypriot Telcrest, associated with the bank "Russia." Another about 36.07 percent of the stock is trading on the Nasdaq.

CTC Media needs to bring its ownership structure in accordance with amendments to the law "On Media," which since 2016 prohibit foreigners from owning directly or indirectly more than 20 percent in the founder of any Russian media. In case of non-compliance with the law, the media will have to close.

The UTV holding, the main owners of which are Usmanov Alisher and Tavrin Ivan, has agreed to buy 75 percent of the CTC Media operating business, RBC reports citing informed sources^[2]

The deal, the amount of which is estimated at $200 million in cash, has reached the final stage, a source close to UTV told the publication.

Now the buyer must obtain permission for the transaction from the Federal Antimonopoly Service, says a RBC interlocutor close to CTC Media. Such an application has already been submitted, a source familiar with the buyer's plans clarifies, and the FAS representative, in turn, confirmed the receipt of the appeal to his department.

Television channels included in the holding

• Television channel "STS"
• Television channel "STS-Petersburg"
• Television channel "STS-Kuzbass"
• Television channel "STS-Izhevsk"
• Television channel "STS-Kazan"
• STS Karelia
• Television channel "STS-9 Channel"
• Television channel "STS-Prima"
• Television channel "STS-Balakovo"
• Television channel "STS-Tula"
• Television channel "STS-Volgograd"
• Television channel "STS-Kursk"
• Television channel "STS-Nizhny Novgorod"
• Television channel "STS-Perm"
• Television channel "STS-Ryazan"
• Television channel "STS-Yakutsk"
• Television channel "STS-Kostroma"
• Television channel "STS-Volga"
• TV channel "Home"
• Television channel "Pepper"
• TV channel of Kazakhstan "31 channels"
• Television channel of the Republic of Belarus "VTV"
• Orion Television Channel
• Television channel "RIO"

Teleproduction companies of the holding

• Soho Media TV Production Company
• TV production company "CostaFilm"

Holding projects

• The television series Margosha is a remake of the original Argentine television novel Lalola.
• The television series "Lalola" is an original Argentine television short story.
• Television series (situation comedy) "Once Upon a Time in the Police"
• TV series "Ranetki"
• Television series (situation comedy) "Daddy's Daughters"
• Television series (situation comedy) "Voronins"
• Sketch show "Give youth!" ("Yes, Young Hedgehog!")
• Sketch show "6 personnel"
• Television series "Cadetship"
• Television series "Kremlin cadets"

Performance indicators

2017: STS Media increased revenue by 12.8% in 2017

Holding "STS Media" announced in December preliminary results of activities in 2017. The group's revenue rose 12.8%, matching the market's growth rate, the company said. EBITDA for the year will grow 2.2 times, the margin will be 27.6%, which generally corresponds to pre-crisis results.

"2017 was a year of large-scale changes for our holding, and the interim results demonstrate that we are on the right track," said Vyacheslav Murugov, CEO of STS Media. "The result was achieved through measures to strengthen content quality control, the introduction of new principles of strategic planning, a systematic approach to programming."

According to him, the holding managed to fully restore and expand the production of its own content. In the future, the group will gradually change the content policy on the channels so that it meets the needs of the audience. STS Media will continue to take part in film production, develop the licensing direction and digital.

As for the holding's channels, the average share of STS after rebranding in the fall of 2017 increased by 8% compared to the period before the changes. The share of the channel in October amounted to 9.8%, which was a record figure for STS in three years, since October 2014. The growth of the channel year-to-year continued in November.

2015: In 2015, STS Media's dollar revenue more than halved

At the end of 2015, the dollar revenue of the Russian holding STS Media more than halved, from $710.4 million in 2014 to $350.56 million. Such information is contained in the company's annual report published on the New York NASDAQ CTC ^[3]

In rubles, the revenue of the media holding decreased by 24% compared to 2014. Advertising revenue was also down 20%. This is worse than the dynamics of the development of the entire television advertising market. According to the Association of Communication Agencies (AKAR), in 2015 the volume of the TV advertising market amounted to 136.7 billion rubles. This is 14% less than in 2014, when the figure was at around 159.8 billion rubles.

STS Media recorded negative dynamics in other indicators. Thus, operating profit in dollar terms fell by 97% - from $157.9 million in 2014 to $4.6 million, and net loss increased to $487 million from $109 million in 2014.

As noted in the report, the net loss reflects losses from the sale of 75% of the operating subsidiary of STS Investments to the UTV holding. The transaction amount amounted to $193 million.

2012-2014

• 2014 - STS revenue grew by 2% (19.1 billion rubles).
• As of March 29, 2013, the capitalization of STS Media on NASDAQ was $1.86 billion.
• Consolidated revenue of CTC Media in 2012 increased by 10% to RUB 24.9 billion.

History

1989: Establishing a Company

STS Media was founded

1991: Broadcasting from St. Petersburg

Launch of television broadcasting from St. Petersburg

1994: Start of broadcasting in Russia

Start of television broadcasting in Russia

1996: Status of the all-Russian air channel

The STS channel receives the status of an all-Russian broadcast channel. For the first time in Russia, the national channel broadcast on the principle of the American network model.

2003: First Russian TV series

STS begins broadcasting the first original Russian series. Audience share increases to 9.2% (from 6.6% in 2002)

2005: The launch of the TV channel "Home"

Launch of the TV channel "Home" - the first all-Russian broadcast thematic channel

2006: NASDAQ Stock Offering

Public offering of STS Media shares on the NASDAQ exchange

In 2006, the company acquired the city Samara television company Orion.

2007: Acquisition of Costafilm and Soho Media

• July - STS Media is included in the highest classification level of the NASDAQ Global Select Market

• December - Acquisition of production companies Costafilm and Soho Media. Boris Podolsky appointed CFO of STS Media

2008: Buying channels in Kazakhstan and Moldova, DTV

• In February 2008, STS Media acquired a 20% stake in Kazakhstan's 31 channels.

• In April 2008, the media holding acquired the DTV channel from its shareholder, Modern Times Group. The beginning of broadcasting "31 channels" in Kazakhstan in the STS format.

• August - Anton Kudryashov appointed CEO of STS Media

• On October 3, 2008, CTC Media acquired 51% in the authorized capital of the group of broadcasters: Teledixi SRL and Muzic Ramil SRL, located in Moldova. The transaction value amounted to $4.1 million.

2009: US STS launch

December - Launch of the international version of the STS TV channel in the USA

2010: STS launch in Israel

• December - Launch of the Videomore social television network
• November - Moving to a new office in Moscow
• September - Creation of "EverST-S" - its own agency for the sale of advertising on Russian channels "STS Media"
• June International STS launch in Israel

2011

• March - Launch of the international version of STS in Germany
• May - The international version of STS began broadcasting on two new platforms in North America: Time Warner Cable in New York and Russian Media Group (RMG)
• On May 10, 2011, CTC Media acquired the Samara regional television company RIO
• June Telcrest Investments Limited acquired a 25.2% stake in STS Media from Alfa Group
• July Creation of the combined production company "Story Furst Production" on the basis of "Costafilm" and "Soho Media"
• October - Updated design of DTV channel and broadcast under the new logo "Pepper"

Launch of the international version of the STS TV channel in the Baltic countries

Began broadcasting STS-International as part of the international Cablevision package in North America

• December - Boris Podolsky appointed Acting General Director of STS Media