Studio 1+1
Central European Media Enterprises (CME) currently owns a 60% economic interest in Studio 1+1. Studio 1+1 was launched in 1995 and broadcast 15 hours per day until 2004 when it was awarded a second license and began broadcasting 24 hours a day. The station broadcasts a combination of programming from the U.S. and Western Europe, as well as regional programming including popular Russian TV series and locally-produced Ukrainian shows.
Studio 1+1 broadcasts approximately 60% locally produced content to 98.5% of Ukraine's 46.4 million people in 2007. In the first half of 2008 Studio 1+1 achieved an all day audience share of 12.6% in its 18+ target group.
The station drew the largest audience in Ukrainian TV history in 2005, with a 60% share of total audience, when the station had broadcast 30 episodes of the locally-made series "The Bourgeois Birthday". "Strictly Ballroom", a live local-production program produced under an international format, which was first hugely successful in 2006, remains country's most watched and discussed project in the media. The show in the fall 2007 was a truly international contest with participants from Italy, Austria, Poland and Russia, when the Polish, not the Ukrainian, participant won the contest thanks to the national sms voting.
Among 1+1's most popular shows is a local version of "The Brainiest", a number of evening talk shows "Bez Tabu" ("Without Taboo"), "Ya Tak Dumayu" (I Think So), and its daily news product, TCN. TCN is recognized as the number one news brand, according to regularly held focus groups, last time conducted in October 2007 by TNS Ukraine. Programming also includes top international series such as "Chicago Hope", "ER" and "Friends", as well as locally or Russian-made "5 Minutes to Metro", "Sisters by Blood", "Cadets" and finally a local version of "Ugly Betty", which quickly established itself as a break-out hit. Recently, the channel's weekend entertainment programming had been enriched by Chance and Karaoke talent shows, reaching share of more than 20%-25%.
In 2007, 1+1 had initiated production of the series "Heart Has No Law" under the franchise of the "Tears of Love" format, developed by ProTV in Romania, another CME station. This project involved cooperation with Romanian colleagues as well as the Russian Channel 5 (St-Petersburg), and it became one of the most successful products at 1+1.
Studio 1+1 also has a strong film-making tradition. Its feature film "A Chef in Love" was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category in 1997. The film was produced by 1+1's Honorary President and former General Director, Alexander Rodnyansky, who also serves as President of the Ukrainian Television Academy, in addition to being a well-known documentary and cinema producer.
Besides connecting with viewers through its original and acquired programming, Studio 1+1 actively supports various aspects of cultural life in Ukraine such as concerts, exhibitions, festivals and sporting events.
Among 1+1's major advertisers are large multi-national corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods, Unilever, Samsung, Mars, Sony, L’Oreal, Nestlé and Baltic Beverage Holding as well as large Ukrainian companies including Volun Holding, Obolon and Kyiv Star.
Oleksandr Tkachenko, the new General Director of Studio 1+1.
