“The production of domestic content, especially drama series and feature films has considerably increased,” said Julia Matiash, Director of Sovteleexport (STE)

Running the distribution division of Russia’s biggest state-owned
media corporation stands Julia Matiash, who spoke to ttv about the
evolution of the country’s audiovisual industry, its main strengths and
quality productions; and the international market’s increasing interest for Russian history.

Over the past few years, the amount of local content developed in Russia has grown notably, on par with the demand for it coming from numerous territories. “The production of domestic content, especially drama series and feature films has considerably increased,” said Julia Matiash, Director of Sovteleexport (STE), the distribution arm of Russia’s largest state-owned media holding VGTRK (Russia Television and Radio). Working as part of one of the country’s main broadcasters and content providers, Matiash is well aware of the evolution of Russia’s audiovisual market and its main strengths: “The key content includes melodramas, detective stories and telenovelas,” she explained, while also highlighting the increasing popularity of Russian entertainment programming, classic music concerts, and films with leading opera and ballet stars.

SHOWCASING RUSSIA’S HERITAGE. Once these local productions travel across Russian borders, they function as a gateway into Russian customs and traditions: “Unique content covering cultural and social issues makes Sovteleexport stand out on the international media markets,” she said, and added: “There is a great demand for movies and series dedicated to the history of Russia or based on Russian classics, as well as high-quality documentaries discovering unknown facts and rare archive materials.”

“This particular kind of content has gained intense interest among public and state channels in more than 40 countries all over the world,” Matiash explained. As an international content distributor, the company plays an essential role in highlighting Russian productions across the globe: “STE’s credo is to combine the distribution of the best Russian programming; meeting the highest quality standards and using the latest technologies with a client oriented approach,” she said.

This mission presents a great challenge for the Russian distributor, as the demand for local content continues to grow: “The territory of our partnerships has been expanding year after year,” Matiash said. The company conducts business with numerous partners across the globe, such as Discovery Networks, BBC, CANAL PLUS, RAI,SVT, TVP, CCTV, China Film Group and Phoenix Satellite.

Representing a catalogue of over 15,000 hours of Russian programs, STE’s reach currently expands across several territories, including France, Germany, Israel, China, Great Britain, Poland and others. And as far as the near future goes, the company intends to continue growing, adding new territories to the list: “Our newest distribution agreements in Latin and North America have become our most exciting achievement recently,” she concluded.

By Carolina Mussio


TTV MAGAZINE  / oct # 84
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