Russia’s "war of the TV channels" between the state-backed ORT and NTV, privately-owned by Vladimir Gusinsky’s Media Most group shows no sign of abating. ORT has frequently reported on Most’s allegedly precarious finances, while NTV has accused ORT of peddling lies ahead of next July’s presidential elections for Boris Yeltsin’s successor.

The situation is not helped by ORT being 49 per cent owned by rival media tycoon Boris Berezovsky. Indeed, ORT was recently described as being like a Russian matryoshka doll, which is a state channel on the outside, a government channel inside that and a private channel at the core. The highly public battle between ORT, and its fellow governmental channels, and NTV is acknowledged as being especially damaging to Most Group.

Besides ORT, there is Russian State Television/RTR, the Kultura channel and TV6 in which Berezovsky holds the majority stake. All four are reportedly involved in the battle with NTV, Russia’s most popular channel and – despite the anxieties over its funding – recognised as the most enthusiastic supporter of free speech and objectivity in reporting.

On August 3 President Yeltsin’s chief of staff Aleksandr Voloshin criticised Media-Most for running a "media racket" as a result of being short of funds. In an interview for the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, reported by the Interfax news agency, he said that Media-Most and particularly its television arm, NTV, could not count on the government’s support while being openly hostile to it.

Reports of Most Group’s liabilities have been widely circulated, citing $1.3 billion of debt. The company’s position was not helped by recent judgements (29 July) from Moscow’s City Arbitration Court ordering an "account arrest" against Media-Most/NTV Plus over Most’s apparent inability to meet payment obligations due under a $60 million loan.

On the same day Russia’s finance minister Mikhail Kasyanov’s said (then) Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin’s government "have no concerns about Media-Most," continuing: "the US$140 million credit allocated by the cabinet for the acquisition and the launching of satellites…has been and is being serviced by the group in full." Adding to the confusion, also on July 29, Stepashin told Tass that he had instructed the finance minister to sort out the financial relationships of Media-Most.

If the July 29 reports are correct, it would indicate that Eutelsat’s long-delayed launch of W4, a satellite closely tied with Media Most and destined for 36 degrees East, boosting NTV’s multi-channel coverage over Russia, might now go ahead.