Russia’s ORT International, a satellite version of Russia’s most popular channel, was commercially launched over Europe on November 29 by Telenor subsidiary Colorsat. The new channel is created especially for Russian and Russian-speaking people outside Russia. ORT International will first be introduced on the satellite market in Germany through a dealer network, with wider European distribution to follow. ORT International broadcasts seven of the top ten Russian TV-programmes, with ORT as its primary source of news, films, children’s programmes, talk shows and entertainment. Kjell Lvbakken, managing director at Colorsat, said he aims to launch more channels and to become a partner and distributor of ‘infotainment services’ for special interest groups of subscribers to leading TV-distributors throughout Europe.