Kvartal TV rebrands as RAZ 3 and drops satellite distribution

Ukrainian TV channel Kvartal TV changes its name to RAZ 3 on 1 September 2026 and stops distributing its signal via satellite. This is stated in a letter from Vizhn Media LLC to audiovisual service providers, a copy of which is available to Mediasat.INFO.

The rebrand is limited to the name and the on-screen logo. The programming schedule, editorial concept, thematic focus, and content of the channel remain unchanged, and broadcasting will continue without interruption.

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Satellite distribution of the signal will be switched off at 00:00 on the night of 31 August to 1 September. From that point the signal will be delivered exclusively over IP infrastructure, which leaves terrestrial delivery as the only reception option. This concerns providers and cable operators that retransmit the channel in their networks.

It is not the first change in how the channel is distributed. In December 2025 Kvartal TV gave up its license in Ukraine’s state-owned multiplex MX-7, citing losses, and stayed in cable networks.

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The rights holder changes along with the name. It becomes Mriya Media Productions, LLC, registered in Sheridan, Wyoming, in the United States, with media identifier I80-00035. Ukraine’s National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting has entered the channel into its register of foreign linear media.

Signal distribution to providers and technical support will be handled by Cosmonova Broadcast LLC and K-Media Plus. Contact details for both are listed in the letter.

The changes come several months after the channel announced it was closing. In late March 2026, Kvartal TV said it would go off air on 30 April. In early April the channel reversed that decision and continued operating.

The name change conceals far deeper processes, media expert Andriy Solomakha believes. In a comment to Mediasat, he said the letter presents the events as technical adjustments, while in fact both the rights holder and the channel itself are changing. Instead of a Ukrainian legal entity registered with the National Council, the rights pass to US-based Mriya Media Productions, LLC. It takes over a broadcaster under a different name while keeping the previous content.

The main purpose of the arrangement, according to the expert, is to preserve the existing distribution network and the established revenue streams. That situation is meant to hold at least until 31 December 2026.

The channel’s future in 2027 is highly uncertain, Solomakha says. In his assessment, the channel is effectively moving to Poverkhnost TV, a company owned by Viktor Samoylenko. It is a direct competitor of the distribution arm of the 1+1 media group, and the expert therefore expects 1+1 to refuse to distribute a rival’s channel. He also doubts the terms will be better for the owners of Kvartal content, arguing that royalties from Poverkhnost TV are unlikely to exceed what distribution through 1+1 brought in.

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Solomakha does not expect the partnership to last. In his forecast, the parties will work through 2027 and then part ways because Poverkhnost TV will not be able to meet the financial commitments it has taken on. The company trails a history of litigation, including disputes with Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne and with major media groups. On that basis, the expert predicts a new wave of turbulence on the market: tough court battles at the very least and criminal proceedings in the worst case.

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