Billions for the TV marathon: next year 2.5 times more money will be spent on “Unified News” than this year

In the 2026 state budget, spending on culture is set to increase by 45% compared with the current year, reaching 16.1 billion hryvnias (≈ €328.4 million).

This was reported by Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture.

Spending will rise especially sharply for the nationwide TV marathon “United News,” launched on 24 February 2022: while 1.5 billion hryvnias (≈ €30.6 million) was allocated for it this year, 4 billion hryvnias (≈ €81.6 million) is planned for next year — 2.7 times more.

Another 4 billion hryvnias (≈ €81.6 million) has been earmarked for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s new program “1,000 Hours of Ukrainian Content.” These funds will go to institutions that will select the media products: the State Film Agency, the Book Institute, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, and others. At the same time, the program’s concept does not yet exist and is to be presented by January.

A total of 1.9 billion hryvnias (≈ €38.8 million) will be allocated for salaries of workers in culture and education, which is 191.5 million hryvnias (≈ €3.9 million) more than in 2025.

All national theaters will receive 106.5 million hryvnias (≈ €2.2 million) (+8.5%); artistic ensembles, concert and circus organizations — 67.5 million hryvnias (≈ €1.4 million) (+8.5%); museums, libraries, and cultural-educational centers — 83.3 million hryvnias (≈ €1.7 million) (+7.2%); and nature and historical reserves — 52.1 million hryvnias (≈ €1.1 million) (+6.8%).