Not The Nine O'Clock News

From RFE/RL Newsline (15/7/2004):

NTV AXES POLITICAL-SATIRE PROGRAM. Continuing a major purge of its politically oriented programming, NTV announced on 14 July that it is canceling its parody show "Krasnaya strela," "Vremya novostei" and other Russian media reported. NTV informed the show's production company that it was canceling the contract immediately in a letter from NTV General Director Vladimir Kulisitkov that did not explain the reason for the decision. "Krasnaya strela" producer Vladimir Neklyudov, however, said the reason was obvious. "There is no such thing as soft satire, just like there is no such thing as being a little bit pregnant," he said. An NTV spokesperson told the paper that "the program had lost the satirical edge that viewers want," adding that the program's ratings were low and its production costs high. "Krasnaya strela" artistic director Aleksandr Tatarskii told the daily that he has no hope that another channel will pick up the program. "If the country had 50 channels, then I'd say the hell with them and go to another. But nowadays there are no choices. Russia has only 2 1/2 channels," Tatarskii said. RC