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Putin’s spokesman: economic reasons obviously behind situation around Dozhd TV channel

MOSCOW, March 27, /ITAR-TASS/. Disconnection of the Moscow-based Dozhd television channel from cable networks by a number of Russian operators is linked, first and foremost, to economic reasons, President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

“As far as I can see, you continue living on in a number of regional cable networks,” Peskov said in an interview with Dozhd. “The case in hand here is not an overall disconnection of the channel. I’d like to home the reasons here are much more of an economic nature.”

“If you say you address an operator and he doesn’t want to allot space to you for money, then that’s bad - I can hardly understand a cable operator who doesn’t want to let you into his network for pay,” Peskov said. “I don’t know what kind of a rationale an operator not letting you for money may have.”

“I know some cable operators may have problems with throughput - they just don’t have enough space,” he said. “Some operators may have economic considerations but if they have reasoning of a different sort then it’s hard for me to figure it out.”

“Your channel is making efforts to keep up its economic profitability and legal independence and one can only wish success to you in this area,” Peskov said.

Monday, a money-raising telethon titled ‘Independence Days: A Telethon in Support of Dozhd” was given the go-ahead at the channel.