RT UK

RT UK
CountryUnited Kingdom
Broadcast areaUnited Kingdom
NetworkRT
HeadquartersMillbank Tower, London
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner(ANO) TV-Novosti (on behalf of Russia Today TV UK Limited)
Sister channelsRT International
RT America (formerly)
RT France
RT Arabic
RT Documentary
RT en Español
RT Deutsch (formerly)
History
Launched30 October 2014
Closed2 March 2022
Links
Websitewww.rt.com/uk/ Edit this at Wikidata

RT UK, also known as Russia Today, was a free-to-air television news channel based in the United Kingdom. It was part of the RT network, a Russian state-controlled international television network funded by the federal tax budget of the Russian government.[1] The channel's head was Nikolay Bogachikhin.[2] Launched in 2014, it ran live broadcasts for seven years and ceased broadcasting from London in July 2021.

RT UK served as the home and production base of RT's UK-based programmes. The channel's studios were located in Millbank Tower. Prior to its closure, the channel offered four hours of its own programming per day, airing RT UK News Monday through Friday at 7 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm and 10 pm. The RT UK News anchors were Bill Dod and Kate Partridge. RT International now broadcasts in its place, though the channel is still available online through RT's websites and social media.

The UK media regulator Ofcom has repeatedly found RT to have breached its rules on impartiality and on one occasion found it had broadcast "materially misleading" content.[3][4][5] On 18 March 2022, Ofcom cancelled RT's UK broadcasting licence "with immediate effect" after concluding the outlet was not "fit and proper" or a "responsible broadcaster".[6]

  1. ^ Nimmo, Ben. "Question That: RT's Military Mission". Atlantic Council-Digital Forensic Research Lab. medium.com. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Inside Russia Today..." BBC Radio 4. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  3. ^ Turvill, William (15 November 2012). "Ofcom rules against Russia Today over Syria conflict report". Press Gazette. Progressive Media International. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  4. ^ "UK regulator Ofcom backs BBC in Russian TV case". BBC News. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  5. ^ Plunkett, John (10 November 2014). "Russia Today threatened with Ofcom sanctions due to bias". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Russia Today has its licence to broadcast in UK cancelled with immediate effect by watchdog Ofcom". Sky News. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.