Svoboda satellite

Named after the Russian word for "freedom," the Svoboda Satellite Package is a comprehensive broadcasting solution designed to bring reliable news sources to regions and populations fed by disinformation and propaganda. The package is accessible to 4.5 million households within the Federation of Russia and approximately 800 thousand in occupied Ukraine. All of these households currently watch television from this satellite position and do not require any additional equipment to view the new channels.

The project will feature up to 25 television channels on Eutelsat’s popular Hotbird satellite, located at 13E.  The technical details for scanning the channels are included below.

Svoboda: A mix of the top Russian independent journalists, many of whom have been branded foreign agents by the Kremlin, including investigations, hard-hitting reports, and global interest news events. Our content partners include: Novaya Gazete Europe, Dmitry Kolezev, A Pogovorit? (Iryna Shykhman), Pavel Kanygin, iStories (Roman Anin), Elizaveta Osetinskaya

Gordon Live:  Features content from Ukraine’s top journalists, Dmitry Gordon and Olesia Batsman. 

Belarus Tomorrow: A new dynamic Belarus news channel born from a partnership between two Belarus independent news outlets, Euroradio and Malanka.

Ost/West 24: A new channel from the Russian language, Berlin-based, Ost/West channel.  This channel focuses primarily on news and current events.

TV8 Moldova: TV8 includes international movies and tv shows, as well as local talk shows and news broadcasting, with content in both Moldovan and Russian.

Current Time: Created by the US organizations Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America. The media sees its task in "promoting democratic values and institutions

Svoboda News: Svoboda News focuses on the latest independent news and events of interest to Russian speakers. We provide a fresh perspective on current events, adheres to international journalistic ethics.

Deutsche Welle (DW) Russia is Germany's international broadcaster, launched a Russian language version first on the Svoboda Network.  As an independent media outlet, it provides unbiased news and information in 32 languages around the world so that people can form their own opinions. DW's work focuses on topics such as freedom and human rights, democracy and the rule of law, world trade and social justice, health education and environmental protection, technology and innovation.

RADIO

Echo: Taken off-air shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the liberal Echo radio station, (formerly Echo of Moscow), has found a new home in Berlin from where it has resumed the fightback against President Vladimir Putin's propaganda.

Radio Sakharov: Previously this station could only be found on the Internet, it is a radio and podcast platform for those who value intellectual freedom. Including discussion about events in Russia and the world, discuss ideas and trends, comprehend the past, observe the present and try to look into the future

Euroradio:  The latest independent news from Belarus, including discussions on politics, economy, culture, social issues.

The project builds upon the work of the Denis Diderot Committee, which was founded by Dr. Andre Lange and Jim Phillipoff. The main goal of the committee was to contribute to the restoration of the free flow of information, without war propaganda, between Europe and Russia with a view to providing support to Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian civil societies. 

• The package will be broadcast to ~61 million households across Europe and MENA
• ~33 million households across Europe watch the Hotbird satellite
• This includes ~4.5 million households in Russia and ~800 thousand households in the occupied territories
• Channel reception is free, there is no encryption or subscription fees

• Many people, especially in Russia, still prefer to get their news via TV
• Satellite is one of the main TV delivery vehicles in Russia and Europe 
• In Russia ~45% of households watch TV via satellite as their primary source
• With satellite, it’s possible to bring alternative content to millions of people completely independent of any local regulation
• This new satellite, 13G, has anti-jamming capabilities, making it very difficult for the authorities to stop