Content plans: what new items are waiting for viewers in the new season
Russian TV channels are preparing a bright season for viewers: cult projects are returning, and the premieres promise to surprise even the most sophisticated audience. The legendary "Fort" with presenter Alexander Petrov will return to STS, and the beloved series "Molodezhka. New shift" and "Mom will be against it." The recently launched new Vintners project promises to be very successful. It will be interesting for those who love wine and good stories, said Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group (NMG), at the opening of the annual conference of the National Advertising Alliance. REN TV has prepared for viewers the continuation of the popular SMERSH franchise — the series "Smashing Ray" and the intriguing project "Dear Willy", which tells about the secret friendship of two irreconcilable European rivals.
What TV news stories have been prepared at NMG
Television still holds the global leadership in audience reach, and the trust in TV advertising remains the highest among all media. This was stated by Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group, at the opening of the annual conference of the National Advertising Alliance, moving on to the premieres of the new season.
— I would like to start with the CTC TV channel, because we have a big event ahead of us — the Fort show. The return of the legend." This is a particularly significant project for us: the audience has been waiting for it for a long time, and the interest turned out to be so high that the ad blocks ended even before the premiere. Moreover, the queue of willing brands continued to grow, and we had to reformat the project a bit so that at least some of the advertisers could get into it," Svetlana Balanova noted.
Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group (NMG), at the NRA: New Season conference
She added that her personal favorite remains "Super Ninja", the most touching and emotionally powerful sports show on Russian television.
— Of course, the "Super Ninja" will continue. As well as "Hide and Seek", "Island" and other projects that are already showing excellent results. And, of course, there will be TV series on STS. A new project "Winemakers" has recently been launched, and it promises to be very successful. I think it will be interesting for everyone who loves wine and good stories to watch," she said, smoothly moving on to the latest news from REN TV and Domashny TV channel.
A shot from the series "Winemakers"
According to Svetlana Balanova, REN TV has demonstrated record figures in the history of broadcasting. The summer of 2025 was the best for the channel in the target audience of 22-55 years — its share was 8.8%.
REN TV creates 37 original program releases every week. The most successful projects among the audience were "Unknown History", "Science and Technology", "News", "Do you know what?", "Operation Carpathians" and "The ZIG ZAG Gang".
— I would like to mention several new TV series — "Dear Willy" and "Striking Ray". In my opinion, these are two very interesting and powerful projects that will be an important event this season," Svetlana Balanova emphasized.
The Domashny TV channel also showed impressive results. He broke his own records and today shares the first place with NTV in terms of serial content production. In the first eight months of 2025, its broadcast share was 7%.
A shot from the TV series "Dear Willie"
In the new season, viewers will see major premieres: the historical saga "Shores of Love", the melodramas "Witch's Love", "On Different Shores" and "Gardens of Tears", the channel's press service said.
Svetlana Balanova paid special attention to international projects. She recalled that last season NMG announced its first co—production with China, the feature film "Red Silk" directed by Andrei Volgin. The plot of the film is based on the history of two post-revolutionary states. In September 2025, the film was released in China simultaneously with 17 releases, and a month later it continues to be in the top 5.
— Red Silk is in the top five. He has already collected more than $1 million, and his distribution continues, which is actually very important, because the Chinese film distribution makes unsuccessful films very quickly. He removes them in just one week, removes them from the rental. Therefore, the fact that the rental was extended for a whole month in China after the first weekend is already an indicator of how our Chinese partners treat this film, how they support it," she said.
A shot from the TV series "Red Silk"
Konstantin Ernst, General Director of Channel One, said that new seasons of his favorite series, shows and programs are waiting for viewers in the new season. On the air: "Mosgaz", "Field of Miracles", "What? Where? When?", "Undercover taxi", "Two stars. Family format". In addition, the channel is preparing new projects: the series "Century", "Pavel the First. And the last one", "Potemkin", "Lilya", "The Sovereign" and others.
What kind of content does the Russian TV viewer prefer today
In Russia, TV remains, in fact, the only free entertainment in excellent quality, said Alexey Tolstogan, CEO of the National Advertising Alliance. Today, the average Russian watches TV for about four hours a day. At the same time, 62% of citizens turn it on daily.
— Take a look at the numbers: 25,000 hours of premiere content in the new TV season of 2025-2026. No repeats, no archive programs, just new material created here and now for you. This is a huge amount. If you decided to watch all this content without interruption, you would need three years of continuous viewing," he said.
Of these 25,000 hours, NMG produces more than 6,000 premiere content annually, Svetlana Balanova emphasized.
Alexey Tolstogan added that today there are practically no houses, apartments or households where there would not be a TV. In addition, the trend towards nostalgia is also increasing: 64% of zoomers are ready to watch old movies and shows, 65% of millennials are the same. Most people want to review what their parents once watched, he stressed.
The return of projects such as Fort is not just a bet on nostalgia, but also an attempt to rethink formats taking into account modern audience requests, says Victoria Zagitova, chief operating officer of the Breaking Trends communications agency and a member of the Russian Union of Journalists.
— Today's premiere series are examples of how the script direction is developing, new faces, fresh themes, and a better visual presentation are emerging. This is an important step forward: the viewer is becoming more demanding, and it is the originality, thoughtfulness of the script and recognizable values that are the key to his attention," she told Izvestia.
Alexey Tolstogan, CEO of the NRA, and Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group (NMG), at the NRA: New Season conference
In 2026, viewers will certainly expect even more flexibility from channels: the ability to work at the intersection of television and online platforms, personalized content, as well as honest, in-depth stories with which to associate themselves, Victoria Zagitova added. The main challenge for the channels is to maintain trust while remaining modern, bold and at the same time socially responsible. If these three components are taken into account, domestic TV has every chance not only to retain the audience, but also to expand it even more, she concluded.
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