‘Has exhausted itself’: The President’s Office is considering ending the unified telethon as early as January 2024

The Office of the President of Ukraine is considering the possibility of ending the unified television marathon starting from the new year, allowing the country’s largest television channels to produce separate content rather than broadcasting the same content.

This information comes from Ukrainian journalists citing their own sources.

“There is a discussion about allowing channels to return to independent broadcasts from January 2024, as it was before the full-scale invasion. Each channel will play its own role, but under the watchful eye of the President’s Office. Control will not be relaxed, and each channel will be monitored to avoid the kind of talk shows where the President and his team were criticized from morning till night, as it was before. News will be interspersed with series and lighter, entertainment programs,” said a source.

However, the source added that a final decision has not been made yet.

Several arguments were presented in favor of abandoning the telethon.

“First and foremost, it has already exhausted its content and only negatively affects the ratings of the channels participating in it. Initially, the telethon was intended to be a propaganda tool to counter Russian propaganda. But the idea did not work. There is no new information; everyone repeats each other, with the same speakers merely changing their words. As a result, the ratings of its participants have significantly dropped. There would be a much larger audience for the news if they were broadcast, as they were before, mixed with series and entertainment programs,” the source stated.

Furthermore, the source claimed that they want to discontinue the telethon to show to their partners that Ukraine allegedly has freedom of speech and independent television, which is a basic prerequisite for preparing for elections, as insisted upon by Western partners.

“For the President’s team, the main platform for the upcoming elections will be Channel 1+1, while the other channels will broadcast separately but under the close supervision of the President’s Office, so that in case of any issues, they can tell Western partners: ‘See, we have democracy here, not like in Russia, where all channels work for the President,'” the source added.

At the same time, there are arguments against this move.

“There is no absolute certainty that the control system will work. Therefore, a final decision has not been made yet,” the source summarized.