📺 Media Conglomerates Reveal Their Hand for the 2026/2027 Season

The industry’s overarching trend: broadcasters are abandoning siloed, linear television models in favor of cross-platform content strategy tailored for multiple screens, combining time-tested brands with new slates.

While established franchises remain the backbone of programming, the approach to them is shifting. Channel One is rebooting its iconic talent show Star Factory 2.0 (featuring a head-to-head battle between producers Igor Matvienko and Basta), while NTV is uniting its flagship series Nevsky and Tverskaya into a seamless programming block, building on the success of First Department (which captured up to a 33% audience share in the 18+ demographic). Classic archive hits like Criminal Russia are also set to make a comeback.

In parallel, networks are enriching their lineups with original drama series:

• NTV: Betting on high-octane thrillers with a historical backdrop (Ayda, centered on 1970s Kazan, and Zheltuga).
• Channel One: Developing Strugatsky brothers adaptations, Miracle (a project tackling influencer/guru culture), and historical dramas (The Romanovs, Novorossiya. Potemkin).
• VGTRK: Focusing on prestige literary adaptations (including a new large-scale adaptation of War and Peace) and expanding the Sklifosovsky universe.

Alexander Zharov, CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding, articulated the industry’s defining shift: content is now engineered simultaneously for traditional linear TV, streaming platforms (Rutube), and vertical short-form video. The television channel is evolving from a rigid programming grid into the central hub of a multi-faceted ecosystem distribution model.