Russia to Launch a New Free-to-air Sports TV Channel

The brand new has been presented in Moscow

A nationwide Russian 24/7 universally-accessible sports television channel called will go on air on 1 November 2015 . The concept of the channel, its key faces and its programmes were revealed on Thursday. The new channel represents a ground-breaking format in the Russian television market. Its fundamental idea is to bring sports closer to the general public, broaden the audiences' understanding of sports as a core feature of human life, help them understand sports personalities, their everyday life, training, families, and use these examples for promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.

At the channel launch, Dmitry Chernyshenko , Director General of the , and Tina Kandelaki General Producer of spoke about the philosophy of the new channel and its core development strategy.

Dmitry Chernyshenko , Director General of the , said:

Tina Kandelaki , General Producer of said:

will have live TV broadcast rights for the majority of first-tier sports events and matches worldwide. It will broadcast traditionally for Russian soccer and basketball matches as well as Formula One races, American football, rugby, boxing and so on. The channel's team will also produce a number of their own shows: news-breaks, weekly reviews, talk-shows and reality shows, feature and documentary films and TV series about sports and lives of athletes. There will also be TV shows on general health, wellness, healthy eating where doctors, nutritionists and coaches will share their views and knowledge.

Match TV brings together 1,500 best-in-class media professionals including Russia's best known anchors and commentators as well as celebrity athletes, such as the Olympic champions Tatyana Navka and Alina Kabayeva, and St Petersburg's striker Alexander Kerzhakov. The channel will also feature Roy Jones Jr , the legendary American boxer, as a boxing commentator and analyst.