In 2026, more than 638 million hryvnias will be allocated from the state budget for the production of content for the nationwide telethon “United News”. The multimedia platform of foreign broadcasting of Ukraine has already finalized four relevant agreements with private media groups.
According to the data of the Prozorro system, the cost of most contracts is about 179-180 million hryvnias, while the agreement with the Inter TV channel was signed for the amount of 100 million hryvnias.
In addition to the Inter TV channel, state funding will be received by “My – Ukraine”, “Studio 1+1” and “SLM News”. The documentation states that the cost of one hour of paid content has not changed compared to the previous year. In total, for the period from March 2022 to April 2026, the total state budget expenditures to support the “United Telethon” and “Freedom” projects amounted to almost 3 billion hryvnias.
In recent years, media experts have repeatedly pointed out problems with compliance with the principles of pluralism in the telethon broadcast. In particular, in 2024, journalists recorded signs of censorship due to the absence of representatives of certain opposition factions in guest studios.
Analysis of airtime for the first quarter of 2026 showed that representatives of the political party “Servant of the People” secured 82% of all invitations among people’s deputies.
During April 13-19 for the first time during the existence of the “United News” telethon, a representative of the “European Solidarity” faction, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, appeared there.
Currently, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze holds the position of Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union. Her participation on the air was the first case of involving representatives of this parliamentary faction in a joint telethon since its establishment. Despite a certain expansion of the circle of speakers, the issue of balanced information provision remains a subject of monitoring by public organizations.
Further funding of media projects from the state budget is causing discussions in the expert community regarding the appropriateness of such expenses in conditions of martial law. The leadership of the relevant departments emphasizes the importance of the telethon as a tool for countering disinformation, but calls on the channels to adhere to standards of objectivity and equal access to the airwaves for all political forces.
