STS (TV channel)

STS CTC
Launched	1 December 1996 (1996-12-01) [1]
Network	National free-to-air TV network / Direct Broadcast Satellite / Cable and DVB-T (where available)
Owned by	CTC Media
Picture format	576i (4:3 SDTV)
Audience share	11.3% (everyone aged 6-54)
Country	Russia
Language	Russian
Broadcast area	Russia
Headquarters	Moscow, Russia
Website	www.ctc.ru

STS (abbr. СТС from Russian: Сеть Телевизионных Станций, Set' Televizionnykh Stantsiy, Network of television stations) is a commercial television station based in Moscow, Russia. It belongs to the CTC Media, a Delaware-registered, Moscow-based NASDAQ-traded (CTCM) company with a market capitalization exceeding US$4 billion. The company is owned by Itera (Russia) and Modern Times Group (Sweden).

History

In 1994, Channel Six Petersburg (owned by then-current CTC Media StoryFirst Communications) began expanded outside St. Petersburg. Some local stations began rebroadcast that station: Telesphere (Krasnoyarsk), AMTV (Moscow), TSM Channel 10 (Novobirisk, have been rebroadcast since the launch in 1991 but disaffiliated in 1995),....

In December 1996, AMTV went into finacal crisis, most of founders had left. It later joins StoryFirst Communications (at that time owned some regional TV in Russia). AMTV later joins those stations, leading to created STS.

STS was launched on 1 December 1996 and today is a leading entertainment network in Russia. Focusing on entertainment, STS broadcasts a mix between Russian productions and international programming of interest to its target audience, viewers aged 6–54, especially younger audiences.

Approximately 100 million people are within STS’s signal reach. In 2007, STS achieved an average audience share in its target demographic of 11,3%. STS network reaches approximately 87% of urban households. It ranks as the fourth most watched nationwide broadcaster in Russia overall.

The STS Network currently has about 350 affiliates, including 19 owned-and-operated stations.

Russian series

STS Media works with the leading Russian TV content production companies. STS airs both licensed series and sitcoms, such as The Nanny ("Моя прекрасная няня"), Who rules in this house? ("Кто в доме хозяин?", which is the Russian remake of Who's the Boss?), Not Born Beautiful ("Не родись красивой", based on the popular Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, known in English as Ugly Betty) and original Russian series and sitcoms, such as Poor Nastya ("Бедная Настя"), Cadets ("Кадетство"), Daddy's Daughters ("Папины дочки"), Kitchen ("Кухня").

Foreign films

STS Media maintains close working relationships with all the major Hollywood studios. It shows European and Hollywood films.

Russian shows

Among the most successful shows: What Not to Wear ("Снимите это немедленно") - style, The Cleverest ("Самый умный") - children's quiz show, Stories in Details ("Истории в деталях") - infotainment, Galileo ("Галилео") - infotainment, Thank God You're Here ("Слава Богу, ты пришел!") - comedy show, Movies in details ("Кино в деталях") - infotainment, You go, teens! (Даёшь молодёжь!)

Animation

Cartoons from the collections of the Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, Warner Bros., Viacom, and others, make up an important part of CTC's daily programming. Every week day a time slot from 14:00-16:00 is exclusively given to animated series such as Timon and Pumbaa, The Woody Woodpecker Show, TaleSpin, Tom and Jerry, Speed Racer, Aladdin, The Real Ghostbusters, Winx Club, Scooby-Doo, DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, Bonkers, and others.

This makes STS leader in this time slot, with an average audience share of 17,8% of audiences 6-54.

Foreign series

STS’s programming mix includes a wide variety of popular foreign series like Charles in Charge, Quantum Leap, Sliders, Kommissar Rex, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Charmed, Smallville, Heroes, The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Nip/Tuck, Lizzie McGuire, Hannah Montana, Time Trax and Doctor Who.

Series by Hollywood producers became an important part of STS’s brand. Those shows enjoy outstanding audience appreciation. While Russian audiences in general prefer Russian-made series, through creative marketing STS has achieved higher ratings for Hollywood-made series than other free-to-air broadcasters.

STS director of comedy in 2009, Kostya Naumochkian, appears in the documentary Exporting Raymond, about the efforts of Everybody Loves Raymond series creator Phil Rosenthal to adapt that show into a Russian version called Voronini for Russian TV.

References

External links

• Official website (in Russian)