RFEFL INC

CURRENT TIME: THE CURRENT TIME TV AND DIGITAL NETWORK PROVIDES RUSSIAN SPEAKERS ACROSS RUSSIA, UKRAINE, CENTRAL ASIA, THE CAUCASUS, THE BALTICS, AND EASTERN EUROPE WITH ACCESS TO FACTUAL, ACCURATE, BIAS-FREE, TOPICAL, AND TRUSTWORTHY INFORMATION. CURRENT TIME ALSO SERVES AS A MUCH-NEEDED REALITY CHECK ON DISINFORMATION NARRATIVES THAT DRIVE CONFLICT IN THE REGION, INCLUDING RUSSIA'S FULL-SCALE INVASION OF UKRAINE. CURRENT TIME PLACES A PREMIUM ON LIVE NEWS COVERAGE THAT ALLOWS SKEPTICAL AUDIENCES NUMBED BY DISINFORMATION AND KREMLIN NARRATIVES TO JUDGE EVENTS FOR THEMSELVES, SUCH AS ITS COVERAGE OF THE TERRORIST ATTACK ON THE CROCUS CITY HALL CONCERT VENUE IN MOSCOW IN MARCH 2024, OR THE DEATH IN PRISON OF OPPOSITION LEADER ALEXEI NAVALNY ONE MONTH EARLIER. IN ADDITION TO LIVE NEWS, CURRENT TIME AUDIENCES HAVE ACCESS TO ONE OF THE LARGEST OFFERINGS OF RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE DOCUMENTARIES AND DOCUSERIES, WITH MANY BEING SHOWN TO RUSSIAN-SPEAKING AUDIENCES FOR THE FIRST TIME, OFTEN BECAUSE OF POLITICAL CONTENT THAT BARS THEM FROM MAINSTREAM DISTRIBUTION WITHIN RUSSIA. IN JANUARY 2024, CURRENT TIME WAS AWARDED A SPECIAL CITATION IN THE IRE PHILIP MEYER JOURNALISM AWARD FOR ITS ONLINE INVESTIGATION "PUTIN AND ORBN'S MEDIA MASQUERADE." CURRENT TIME ALSO OFFERS UNIQUE PROGRAMMING ON MEDIA LITERACY, EDUCATION, BUSINESS, THE LIVES OF RUSSIAN-SPEAKING IMMIGRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND HUMAN-INTEREST PROGRAMS FROM REMOTE CORNERS OF WHAT WAS ONCE CALLED THE SOVIET EMPIRE ALL RARELY, IF EVER, AVAILABLE ON RUSSIAN STATE CHANNELS. CURRENT TIME TV IS SEEN IN 28 COUNTRIES VIA 356 DISTRIBUTORS WHICH ARE CABLE, DIGITAL STREAMING, OR SATELLITE COMPANIES THAT TAKE THE ENTIRE CHANNEL AND 51 AFFILIATE STATIONS WHICH CARRY ONE OR MORE CURRENT TIME PROGRAMS IN 18 COUNTRIES. ACCORDING TO RESULTS FROM A NATIONWIDE SURVEY COMMISSIONED BY USAGM IN 2023, 6.0% OF ADULTS IN RUSSIA CONSUME CURRENT TIME CONTENT EACH WEEK. IN FY 2024, THE NETWORK SAW NEARLY 780,000 AVERAGE WEEKLY WEBSITE VISITS AND 42.9 MILLION WEEKLY VIDEO VIEWS ACROSS DIGITAL PLATFORMS.

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE CONTENT: RFE/RL'S RUSSIAN SERVICE, RADIO SVOBODA, IS A TRUSTED SOURCE OF BALANCED INFORMATION ABOUT POLITICAL, SOCIAL, CIVIC, CULTURAL, AND HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES THAT ARE UNREPORTED OR UNDER-REPORTED IN RUSSIA. IT ALSO PROVIDES A FORUM FOR DISCUSSION AND DEBATE ON THESE TOPICS. RADIO SVOBODA FOCUSES ON PRODUCING A RANGE OF INTEGRATED MULTIMEDIA CONTENTAUDIO, VIDEO, AND SOCIAL MEDIATHAT CONNECTS TARGET AUDIENCES ACROSS RUSSIA AND ENHANCES THE IMPACT OF ITS JOURNALISM. THE SERVICE RUNS TWO REGIONAL REPORTING PROJECTS: SIBERIA.REALITIES (SIBREAL.ORG) IS AIMED AT RESIDENTS OF THE TRANS-URALS REGION OF RUSSIA AND NORTH.REALITIES (SEVERREAL.ORG) AIMED AT NORTHWESTERN RUSSIA. RFE/RL ALSO LAUNCHED SYSTEMA, ITS RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE INVESTIGATIVE UNIT, IN 2023, WHICH EXPOSES CORRUPTION, ILLICIT BEHAVIOR, AND MALIGN NARRATIVES PURSUED BY THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT AND ELITES. DESPITE BEING FORCED TO SUSPEND OPERATIONS WITHIN RUSSIA FOLLOWING THE FEBRUARY 2022 START OF THE FULL-SCALE INVASION OF UKRAINE, RUSSIANS CONTINUED TO FLOCK TO RFE/RL'S ONLINE VIDEO REPORTING FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE FRONT LINESFOR EXAMPLE DURING UKRAINE'S SURPRISE AUGUST 2024 OFFENSIVE INTO RUSSIA'S KURSK REGION. OWING TO LONGSTANDING POLITICAL PRESSURES WITHIN RUSSIA, ILLUSTRATED BY THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT'S DESIGNATION OF THE SERVICE AS A "FOREIGN AGENT" IN 2017 AND AN "UNDESIRABLE ORGANIZATION IN FEBRUARY 2024, RFE/RL IS RESTRICTED FROM LOCAL RADIO AND TV REBROADCASTING AND THEREFORE PRIMARILY RELIES ON DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS. ACCORDING TO RESULTS FROM A NATIONWIDE SURVEY COMMISSIONED BY USAGM IN 2023, 4.2% OF ADULTS IN RUSSIA CONSUME RADIO SVOBODA CONTENT EACH WEEK. IN FY 2024, THE SERVICE SAW 1.4 MILLION AVERAGE WEEKLY WEBSITE VISITS AND 20.8 MILLION WEEKLY VIDEO VIEWS ACROSS DIGITAL PLATFORMS.