The Disney Channel has signed a five year cable TV license deal with the Russian federal agency for telecommunications so it can screen its usual mix of family entertainment, animation and documentaries. It's Disney's second try. Last year the fairytale channel tried to launch as a terrestrial TV and Web offering with Media One Holdings but Russian authorities shot the idea down like a U2 spy plane.
Meanwhile, in other more ominous Russian news, Omline, the Russian digital TV service operated by Mostelcom has closed and all information on pay TV and telephony offered by Omline has disappeared from the company's website. Omline, when it was around, was a technically advanced service in Moscow that offered video-on-demand, HDTV and digital video recording. No word on where it went and Siberia might not be out the question.
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