Ukraine Adapts Breaking News—Live from History

Starlight Media has adapted the factual format Breaking News—Live from History to celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Entitled Independence: Live (Незалежність в прямому ефірі [Nezalezhnist v priamomu efiri]), the show depicted the day when Ukrainian independence was declared in 1991 as if today’s 24/7 news channels had covered the event in real time. On ICTV’s news set, the channel’s two most popular anchormen launched a Special Edition about the event that is supposedly taking place. The show features a wide range of content in strict compliance with historical facts: live reports with correspondents, interviews in studio or video, infographics, colorized archives reports, reenactments and more.

The 50-minute special aired on ICTV on Saturday.

It was adapted from the factual show created by French TV host Thierry Ardisson and R&G for France 2 in order to celebrate D-Day’s 80th anniversary in June.

Tetiana Hrebenik-Kozina, head of non-scripted production for ICTV, ICTV2 (Starlight Media), said: “Nowadays, the whole of Ukraine lives in a constant state of breaking news. Modern history is being written right before our eyes. At the same time, during such a turbulent period, Ukrainians are increasingly turning to the past in search of answers to questions of self-identification, history and the formation of their country. As the company with the largest audience in the country and one of the oldest and most experienced news outlets, Starlight Media understands the potential of this news format. When we learned about the Breaking News—Live from History format, we immediately recognized it as a perfect fit. It offers a unique way to reveal hidden facts from history, presented in a simple, fast and understandable news broadcast format for our viewers.”

Arnaud Renard, partner at CAN’T STOP media, which represents the format, added: “We are very proud to partner with ICTV to adapt this show, which was a great success when it aired in France on June 5, more than tripling the slot’s average on 25 to 49. The format is a brand-new way of telling history.”