Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has confirmed that plans are in place to launch a new state-backed sports channel on September 1.
The channel will be broadcast by Gazprom Media Holding, a division of state-owned energy company Gazprom, and will be distributed through the network of Russia 2, the free-to-air channel operated by state-owned broadcaster VGTRK
“In September, and we hope on September 1, the new television channel will launch, offering non-stop sport,” Mutko said, according to the Sport.ru website.
“It will broadcast all of the most important and interesting events.”
Mutko also said that, aside from the main channel, there could be “four or five” other channels in order to “cover all sports.”