Costly and Pointless. Akhmetov Shuts Down Segodnya Newspaper

Instead of publishing a print edition, Media Group Ukraine will focus on digital and TV formats.

Media Group Ukraine has decided to suspend publication of the Segodnya newspaper.

This was reported by the holding's press service on Monday, September 2.

The final issue of the daily newspaper will be published on Sunday, September 27. The website and television news will continue to operate as before.

All staff of the publication are promised fair dismissal terms and the opportunity to get a new job within the Group.

«The print press distribution system is practically destroyed, — said Media Group Ukraine director Yevgeny Bondarenko, — printing costs are rising in foreign currency terms, and the trend toward higher costs will persist. Readers in the regions often receive news that is two days old, or even a week old. Recently the situation has only worsened, and we have made a business decision to suspend the publication of the daily newspaper».

According to Andrey Romanchenko, CEO of Segodnya Multimedia, over 9 years the average weekly reach of newspapers has dropped by 52%, while internet reach has grown by 60%, so there is no "point in printing a newspaper and not being able to distribute it".

Media Group Ukraine — is a media holding that manages the media assets of the Ukrainian conglomerate System Capital Management of businessman Rinat Akhmetov. Among other things, the corporation brings together the Ukraina, NLO TV, Indigo TV, Football 1, Football 2 TV channels and the Segodnya Multimedia holding.

Earlier, Rinat Akhmetov took third place in the list of the 100 most influential people in Ukraine according to NV magazine. However, according to polls by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, he has a negative trust balance among Ukrainians.