Disney granted Russian cable licence

Disney moved a step closer to launching its kids channel in Russia after the local regulator granted it a licence to launch on cable platforms.

The federal agency for telecommunications granted the Disney Channel the five year licence to air a mix of animated series and locally produced live action kids series. This comes a year after Disney had its plans to launch a terrestrial free-to-air channel in the country nixed when its acquisition of local broadcaster Media One was rejected by Russian authorities.