RT, the Russian government-backed programmer, said it is launching a new dedicated news channel in the United Kingdom to go along with ones in the United States (RT America and RTDoc). RT UK will launch on the Freeview and Sky platforms on Oct. 30, broadcasting from new London studios.
“It has always been RT’s goal to bring new perspectives to our viewers – to show them the side of the story they won’t see on the mainstream channels,” Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief, said in a release. “Now, with a dedicated UK channel, we can serve the needs and interests of the British public by promoting debate and new ways of thinking about specifically British issues.”
On-air presences on RT UK will include anchor Bill Dod, financial commentator Max Keiser and investigative talk show host Afshin Rattansi, RT said. The new channel will start out with 5 hours of dedicated U.K. programming per day, including live news and documentaries and chat-shows, supplemented by other RT channels, including RT International.
As reported by The Guardian and other outlets, RT has faced criticism (including from resigning correspondents) about coverage of Russia and Ukraine slanted toward the Kremlin's messaging.
