Gazprom Media
Gazprom Media stands as Russia’s preeminent media conglomerate, commanding nearly 20 television and radio channels, digital platforms, and select print publications. It remains a central pillar of the country’s media landscape.
Media assets
Television: NTV (НТВ), Match TV (Матч ТВ), TNT (ТНТ), TV-3 (ТВ-3), Friday! (Пятница!), NTV Style (НТВ-Стиль), NTV Law (НТВ-Право), NTV Series (НТВ-Сериал), NTV HIT (НТВ-Хит), Match Premier (Матч! Премьер), Match! Arena (Матч! Арена), Match! Game (Матч! Игра), Match! Planet (Матч! Планета), Match! Football 1 (Матч! Футбол 1), Match! Football 2, Match! Football 3, KHL TV, KHL TV HD, Match! Fight (Матч! Боец), Horse World (Конный мир), Match! Country (Матч! Страна), Saturday! (Суббота!), TNT4 (ТНТ4), 2×2, Kinohit, Kinokomediya, Kinomix, Kinopremiera, Kinosemya, Kinoseriya, Kinosvidaniye, Muzhskoe Kino, Nashe Novoe Kino, Indijskoe Kino, Rodnoe Kino, Kinouzhas, India, Kitchen TV, 365 Days TV, HDL, La Minor TV, Russian Night
Radio: Radio Energy, Autoradio, Humor FM (Юмор FM), Comedy Radio, Children’s Radio (Детское радио), Like FM, Radio Romantika, Relax FM, Radio Zenit
Publishing: Seven Days, Story Caravan
News portal: Rutube, Yappy, PREMIER, 101.ru, NTV-Plus, Match Premier
State Media Matrix Typology
Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
Gazprom Media’s ownership structure is labyrinthine and subtly embeds indirect state control. The company is officially owned by Gazprombank, itself a subsidiary of the state-owned energy titan Gazprom. The biggest shareholder in Gazprombank is Gazfond, a pension fund largely managed by Lider, a management company under Sogaz Insurance Group, which in turn is majority-owned by Rossiya Bank, known for its ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As of mid-2025, Gazprom Media remains firmly under the stewardship of Alexander Zharov, whose tenure since 2020 has been marked by both domestic consolidation and international visibility. Zharov has positioned himself as a key figure in state-aligned cultural diplomacy, taking part in the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and engaging in high-profile exchanges with partners from the Islamic world and India. At the same time, the group’s leadership has courted controversy: deputy CEO Tina Kandelaki, a prominent media personality, has drawn sanctions and travel bans for her outspoken pro-Kremlin stances. Together, this leadership mix underscores Gazprom Media’s dual role as both a cultural envoy of the Russian state and a lightning rod for international criticism.
Source of funding and budget
The holding’s financial backbone relies on advertising incomes and subscription revenues tied to its thematic and pay‑TV channels. In 2020, total revenues reached RUB 99.2 billion (US$1.38 billion), and in the first three quarters of 2021, the company pulled in RUB 84.2 billion, with ad sales accounting for over 72 % of that total.
A report from the Media and Journalism Research Center revealed significantly different figures in the Excheck.pro database. According to the aforementioned source, Gazprom Media reported revenue of RUB 383m in 2021.
Editorial independence
Media outlets under Gazprom Media are widely regarded as lacking editorial independence, often reflecting, and reinforcing, Kremlin narratives. Its flagship channel NTV has earned a reputation as “Russia’s most aggressive channel of disinformation,” leaning heavily towards state-aligned messaging.
To date, no internal statutes or external oversight mechanisms guaranteeing journalistic autonomy have been publicly documented.
August 2025