Analytical programs about politics. Why do Ukrainian experts suffer humiliation and beatings on Russian shows? What attracts viewers to these programs?

The national television award TEFI for information and analytical broadcasting has exactly two nominations (a program in this genre and its presenter), and the thoroughly political one is forced to compete with its “Sunday Evening” (as it was at TEFI-2016) in the category “Evening talk show "with the shows "Revizorro" and "Let's Get Married" that are very far from politics. In this situation, however, there is nothing extraordinary - and after the update, TEFI has not yet figured out its categories (they change almost every year), and the politicization of domestic television - especially in prime time - leaves much to be desired.

Of course, there is news broadcasting: various “News”, “News”, “Today” and “Events” are broadcast several times a day, followed by final releases on the main events of the day.

But almost everything is clear with the news, they are also subject to separate nominations in TEFI, and their format has remained unchanged almost since Soviet times. In addition, they enjoy constant success with viewers and regularly occupy almost the entire top 10 most popular programs of the week according to Mediascope (formerly TNS Russia), and only Eurovision or The Voice can move them from the first places. Political talk shows are not at the highest places in the ratings, which does not exclude rivalry between them outside of television awards.

Popular and not so popular

Vadim Takmenev with figurines after the TEFI Award ceremony (2014)

Ekaterina Chesnokova/RIA Novosti

Political talk shows should not be confused with opinion programs, such as The Show, which dates back to the American Anchorman Show. Invented back in the 60s by Phil Donahue, the format of communication with viewers (and invited experts) to discuss topical issues is more often used for any social topics (for example, “Let them talk”). Extended news broadcasts, usually released at the end of the week (for example, “Sunday Time”), still play on a different field than talk shows, although they can be similar to them.

The most popular talk show in the political genre has long been “Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov,” which airs late on Sundays on Rossiya 1.

In the week from February 13 to 19, this program received a rating of 4.6% and a share of 18.9%, taking first place among socio-political programs and becoming thirteenth overall (Moscow, audience 4+).

Also, two more of Solovyov’s programs often make it into the top ten of this section—“Evening,” aired on weekdays, as well as “Duel,” in which viewers make their favorite politician the winner.

In addition, the multiple TEFI winner with Saturday Central Television is popular (3.4% rating and 9.8% share), as well as two shows on the “Right to Know!” channel. and “The right to vote.” And, of course, the growing “60 Minutes” on “Russia 1” and “First Studio” on the First.

By the way, it was Takmenev and his program that won the TEFI twice - in 2014 and 2016.

Discord slot

Olga Skabeeva and Evgeny Popov (60 Minutes program)

Still from the program/Russia 1

The seven-hour slot is traditionally considered the very beginning of evening prime time - not the most prestigious, but already popular. On weekdays, some domestic channels allocated it to news programs: the 40-minute episode of “Today” began at 19.00, and the half-hour “Events” on “TV Center” and “News” began at 19.30. On “Russia 1” at this time, since 2013, there was a “Live Broadcast” with Boris Korchevnikov, who, in terms of the intensity of passions and the topics raised (scandals in show business and social issues), was a worthy rival to the show “Let’s Get Married”, which is shown on The first since 2008. For a long time, this distribution seemed to suit everyone, but at the beginning of the 2016/17 season at Rossiya 1 they decided to change the concept.

The new talk show “60 Minutes” opened the evening prime time slot.

The show is released daily on weekdays at 18.50 and runs - including advertising - until the 20 o'clock edition of Vesti. It was and is positioned as socio-political and dedicated to the main topic of the past day, which is discussed by the presenters (spouses and) and invited guests of the program - political and public figures. As for “Live Broadcast,” it hasn’t gone anywhere, but simply moved along with Korchevnikov an hour earlier. Beyond prime.

The main competitor of Rossiya 1 did not notice changes in the network of the neighboring channel for about six months.

And only in January 2017 did he strike back - at six in the evening the almost two-hour talk show “First Studio” with host Artem Sheinin began airing. The format turned out to be approximately the same as that of “60 Minutes” - a discussion of the topics of the day with invited experts (but in the legendary Ostankino First Studio), but perhaps a little more detailed than that of Skabeeva and Popov. Due to longer timing.

It's about the rating

Artem Sheinin

Channel One

TV channels pay very close attention to the ratings of their programs. And even if for the First or “Russia 1” a fluctuation in percentage is not fatal, any change still requires attention. Thus, according to the data, at the end of 2016 the leader was the channel “Russia 1” with 12.9% (a year earlier it was 12.7%) of the audience share, and the First became second with 12.7% (in 2015 there were 13. 7%). The first, by the way, was the first to take not the most popular measures to remove shows from the air that did not live up to expectations, such as the series “ Reverse side moons - 2" or your own hockey cup.

The idea of ​​“Russia 1” with a socio-political talk show at the beginning of prime time did not at first seem like a serious attempt to turn the tide.

At launch, “60 Minutes” showed 3.2% ratings and 12.4% share - indicators comparable to “Let’s Get Married” and therefore not dangerous. In the end, “Live Broadcast” had approximately the same numbers: for example, exactly a year ago, in February 2016, Korchevnikov’s show had 2.8% and 10.3% (and TV matchmakers had 4.0% and 13.1%). And during the release of “60 Minutes,” there was no direct competition: television was actively covering the elections and was not in the mood for possible weddings.

By the end of the year, however, the situation had changed: “60 Minutes” entered the top 3 best socio-political programs broadcast on weekdays (according to data), and at the beginning of 2017 it was already clearly ahead of “Let’s Get Married” - 5.4 % and 17.2% versus 4.0% and 12.7%.

Now “First Studio” and “60 Minutes” compete almost on equal terms. The Channel One program in the week from February 13 to 19 had a rating of 4.1% and a share of 13.8%, while the Rossiya 1 show had 4.2% and 13.7%, respectively.

The parity between two similar programs will apparently continue to be maintained in the future. “Russia 1” is helped by the fact that after “60 minutes” “Vesti” begins and it is possible to maintain the continuity of the news and analytical agenda. The First has to his credit the scandalous talk show of Andrei Malakhov “Let Them Talk,” which has been running for a decade and a half and looks completely unsinkable. Viewers, perhaps, only benefited from this rivalry: they can choose the presentation of current material to their taste - aggressive from “60 Minutes” or calmer from “First Studio”.

The main victims in this battle of ratings were fans of the show “Let's Get Married,” which unexpectedly found itself in an unusual place (now broadcast at 17.00) - not all viewers have time to get to the TV from work by this time. True, the protest that swept through social networks was not paid attention to at First.

Russian political talk shows have become popular programs on modern television. Various channels show these programs, because they are watched by a large number of viewers, and this in turn increases the ratings of television companies and forces them to create new similar television projects. What attracts viewers to these TV shows? We will try to answer this question in this article.

The most popular talk shows

  1. "Sunday Evening" (host Vladimir Solovyov).
  2. "Politics" with Pyotr Tolstoy.
  3. "The right to vote."
  4. “The Right to Know” with E. Satanovsky.

There are also a number of special politicized talk shows that also attract the attention of viewers, for example, the “Special Correspondent” program on the Rossiya TV channel.

What attracts viewers to these programs?

Political talk shows in Russia are a popular type of television today for many reasons. Firstly, this is due to the growing contradictions between Russia and the countries of the Western world, which declared our country persona non grata after the famous Crimean referendum.

Secondly, all countries feel the accumulated contradictions in relations that are associated with global changes on the geopolitical map of the world, which occurred at the end of the last century. With the collapse of the USSR, the Yalta world order system, which had developed at the end of World War II, collapsed. The United States, having gained global dominance in the economic world, decided by military means to achieve the complete subjugation of countries that were not part of the aura of its deep influence. Therefore, the United States, using “soft power” tactics, seeks to create hotbeds of tension throughout the globe, including on the territory of our country.

Thirdly, it is already becoming obvious to many that the world is on the brink of a Third World War, which could end in the complete destruction of humanity, since many states have weapons for this.

Political TV programs on Channel Two

And yet, the ratings of political talk shows in Russia indicate that the greatest responses in the hearts and minds of television viewers are found in television programs on the second federal channel. These are programs hosted by journalist Vladimir Solovyov.

The success of the program is made by the invited people, usually of completely different political views, and smart, deep-thinking presenters.

Political talk shows in Russia - propagandists of peace or war

Events in the world are developing rapidly. There are a large number of threats to our country that it has to fight against in the context of Western sanctions and terrorist attacks, as well as the subordination of the Russian economy to the dollar system.

Experts invited to political talk shows, as a rule, present polar points of view on the current situation. Among them there are so-called statists who advocate recreating the image Great Russia, there are liberals who are ready to bow to the Western world for the sake of friendship with it, there are also those who make their political career on these shows. There are even representatives from the obvious enemy camp: American journalists trying to convey to our viewers the point of view of the leaders Western countries, according to whom, Russia is taking the path of totalitarianism and poses a threat to the whole world.

It is difficult to say what the hosts of such shows are calling for: they are calling for peace or war. Passions are running high, but we should not forget that such programs are a propaganda tool and entertainment, which is why they frighten viewers, shape public opinion, and even provide pleasant viewing moments.

That's why political talk show on the Russia channel is a program that is unlikely to lose its high popularity in the coming years.

Many people, especially women, love to watch talk shows online or live. They discuss many important life issues and ways out of situations. Viewers are especially attracted to Ukrainian talk shows. They really look at the problems of real people who found themselves in different life situations.

TV Experts' Opinion

Many experts agree that Ukrainian talk shows show real life in the country and are considering important aspects. And ordinary people love to watch such programs and empathize with the participants.

Why do online views exist?

Let's imagine that a person is at work and there is no way to watch the live broadcast, but he really wants to. There are people who never miss a single episode of their favorite show. There are websites especially for them that allow you to watch talk shows online in recording. This way, you can review all the important points, as well as review again what was not clear. This is convenient, since the live broadcast cannot be rewinded. Now there are Ukrainian services that will allow you to watch talk shows online, both in Ukrainian and Russian.


Omar is the son of an Iraqi communist forced to flee his country to the USSR. He was born and raised in Moscow and now decided to find relatives who remained in Baghdad. Accompanied by an RTD film crew, Omar went to Iraq to find out what happened to his father's family and how the events affected them. recent years- overthrow of Saddam Hussein, American occupation and civil war.

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