Kosmos-TV was created in 1991 by
Metromedia International, an offspring of the former
Metromedia conglomerate in former Communist states, who had previously arranged an agreement to distribute
MTV Europe to Lencentel in
Saint Petersburg, which was renamed from the former Leningrad at the end of the year. Broadcasts of Kosmos-TV started in December 1991, at the time of the dissolution of the
Soviet Union. It was a joint-venture between Metromedia's subsidiary ITI (International Telcell Inc.) and the
Russian State TV and Radio Company «Ostankino» having 50% each. At the time of its launch, there were no pay-TV services in the Russian language, causing Kosmos-TV to concentrate on a niche market of foreigners, including elite Anglophone Russians. During Lapshin's absence, in 1994, Kosmos-TV was registered as a joint stock company. Plans were being made to reach the 100 channel benchmark by 2000. A mixture of developments partly attributed to the
1998 Russian financial crisis saw Kosmos-TV reformat its activities to a more Russophone audience. A substantial amount of foreign subscribers left the service, owing to their exit from Russia, and new foreign companies began delivering services with Russian translation, such as Nickelodeon and Discovery. initially scheduled for 1999 but delayed due to poor market conditions. In July 2003, Metromedia sold its 50% share in the service to offshore Adamant Advisory Services, who then sold its assets in Russia to AFK Sistema on 27 October 2003. In 2004, Kosmos-TV announced that it would start its service in regions other than Moscow. In August 2011, Vladimir Yevtushenkov bought Kosmos-TV in order to later sell the frequencies to LTE operators. The provider sent a letter to its subscribers in August 2012 announcing the shutdown of operations on 1 September and the conversion of the frequencies to the LTE network. At closing time, Kosmos-TV had 35,000 subscribers, much smaller than the average number of pay television subscribers in Moscow at 4.8 million. Its subscribers moved to other providers. ==References==