Gazprom-Media Match (part of Gazprom-Media) and Rostelecom presented a joint project, the television channel Match! Ultra, in which 100% of the broadcast time will be devoted to the main sports event of the summer, 2018 FIFA World Cup. The TV channel will be operational only during the time of the tournament, from June 13 to July 15. Rostelecom is the official regional sponsor of FIFA 2018.
Match! Ultra will offer broadcasts in super high definition. The channel is unique in the sense that it will broadcast FIFA 2018 matches 24 hours a day without any advertising. The viewers will also be able to watch original programs and talk shows about the tournament. Match! Ultra will get priority for showing exclusive materials about the tournament. All exclusive information about the 2018 World Cup will, first of all, appear on the specialty channel Match! Ultra and then on other platforms of the sub-holding Gazprom-Media Match.
The premiere episodes of the programs Portrety Igrokov Chempionata Mira (Portraits of World Cup Players), Doroga v Rossiyu (Road to Russia) and others about the tournament will appear on the air of Match! Ultra.
Filming of the programs will take place at Ostankino’s famous 8th Studio, which is familiar to viewers for such projects as 8-16, Razogrev (Warm Up), Angliiskii Aktsent (English Accent) and others, which appear on the specialty channel Nash Futbol. The studio will be completely refurbished ahead of the 2018 World Cup and made ready for broadcasts using the most modern technologies.
The hosts and commentators on Match! Ultra will be the personalities from Match TV channel who are already well known to Russian football fans. One of the things that will distinguish Match! Ultra is that many of the hosts and commentators will have video blogs on the channel where they will share exclusive information with viewers in their signature styles.
“The quality of the television image is one of the main and determining factors for the modern viewer when choosing a channel for watching the necessary content. The World Cup is the most important event in the world of sport. Many viewers would like to see 100% of the football without any advertising, and we are happy to provide such a unique opportunity. None of the channels can boast about such comfortable conditions for fans,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, CEO of Gazprom-Media.
“We are happy to gift to the viewers of our Interactive TV, among which there are many football fans, a special-interest TV channel. It will be fully devoted to one event - the 2018 FIFA World Cup - and will exist only for one month, but I am confident that it will remain in the memory of the viewers for a long time. It is important to note that the channel will not have television advertising, thus, nothing will distract the attention of the viewers from the matches and discussions about them. The channel will be broadcast in HD+ format, which is as close to the 4K characteristics as possible. This will allow viewers to spot the smallest details of the game and experience 100% of its emotional heat,” said Mikhail Oseevsky, president of Rostelecom.
Match! Ultra will replace Match Planeta during the 2018 World Cup, but Planeta will resume its broadcasts on July 16 in its usual format.