The most popular entertainment in Ukrainian home life today is television. It has become one of the most important facts of modern life. Television is very much a part of the modern world. Its effects are felt all over the world.
Television is a reflection of the modern world, say some people. It shows contemporary society. It affects customs and culture, other say. Television is bad for culture because it keeps culture from growing, say still others.
Good or bad, television is difficult to avoid. Its pictures enter homes, stores, airports and factories.
In Ukraine people have a choice between many TV channels. News is broadcast at regular intervals and there are panel discussions of current events, both national and international. Operas, ballets, music concert and variety shows are presented at various times. In the late afternoon and early evening TV stations show specials programmes for children. It the evenings and at weekend there are broadcasts of sports events. A large part of TV evening time is often occupied by serials – films which appear on television in parts daily or at intervals.
The channels of Ukrainian television keep people informed about current events, the latest achievement in science and culture and offer some programmes which are both informative and entertaining. But they also offer a lot of trivial programmes the poor quality of which is criticized by viewers. There is also concern about the negative effects of some TV shows in which scenes of violence and crime are presented.
Commercial television gets its money from advertising. The programmes on these channels are financed by different companies, which, however do not have anything to do with the arrangement or content of these programmes. They just “buy time” to advertise their products and the viewers have to watch advertisements for petrol, washing machines, soap and many other items which they do not require between and during programmes. In other words Ukrainian TV serves the interest of big business.
Prime time programmes are the most expensive. The commercials take up approximately 8 minutes of an average television hour. The aim of the sponsors is to support the most popular programmes. These include shows featuring well-known stars, westerns, comedies, movies, spy shows, live sports programmes, quiz shows and soap operas.
Better quality and more channels are offered to Ukrainian viewers by cable TV. Right now it is technically possible to deliver on the cable with more than 100 channels to every home with a TV set, and, there are, at present, special cable TV stations: such as “Volya”, “Vika-TV” and some others in Kyiv.