Opinions & Interviews
VIDEOBEL.BY: Belarus launches first multimedia portal! What will it offer?
The country’s first multimedia portal - VIDEOBEL.BY - is set to go online today, 12 September. What makes this project unique for the entire post-Soviet space? What content is in the focus and why will it appeal not only to Belarusians? We discussed these questions with BelTA Director General Irina Akulovich.
Irina Borisovna, virtually every media outlet in Belarus has its own website. What is the main reason behind the development of a new media portal?
We have recently become a prime target for cyber attacks. In 2025, the year of the presidential election in Belarus, the pressure will be even higher. According to the research of cyber threats for the CIS countries in 2023 and H1 2024, presented recently at Positive Tech Day in St. Petersburg, Belarus rounds out the top three most cyber attacked countries in the CIS. At the same time, interest in the social and political content of the Belarusian media is on the rise. Both we and our colleagues see it in the number of views on our portals and websites. The thing is that currently our media use a foreign hosting service, which is a true ‘minefield’. Not only certain materials, but entire channels are blocked there. Since our president pursues an independent policy, opponents are doing everything to block the channels providing true information about Belarus. We are cut off from Facebook, TikTok. Our YouTube channels can be blocked at any moment. We do not control this space. Therefore, I believe it was the right and logical decision of the head of state to develop our own resource in Belarus, which is conceived as an essential tool for accumulating the main social and political programs of our leading mass media. This is an image-building project for the country.
The relevant decree designated BelTA as the organization tasked with developing a new media portal. Why do you think such a choice was made?
First of all, BelTA is a major provider of news. We also review all main social and political programs of our colleagues, cover and promote them through our own resources.
With the new media portal going online, we will continue our work with even greater efficiency. BelTA has set up a board to work on the project. This team of professionals will manage and update the new platform round the clock. They have already compiled an archive of programs ahead of the media portal launch. I am sure that VIDEOBEL.BY will become a highly popular resource.
In order to gain popularity, the media portal must have a strong competitive advantage. What is it?
It is its functionality in the first place. The portal will provide quick access to all the content of the Belarusian leading mass media, so the viewer and reader will not have to go from site to site in search of information. The new resource will offer streaming channels and important live broadcasts, in particular, from the events attended by the head of state. It will provide a selection of top five news headlines for those who want to keep up-to-date but spend the minimum time studying the media space. This is a one-stop media portal for users to get the best and most relevant content.
I also find it very convenient that all video materials will be accompanied by time codes. In fact, this is a breakdown of entire programs into thematic segments, which will make it easy to navigate and save time. I would like to note that a responsive design of the media portal means that all its contents can be accessed from any device, be it a smartphone or a TV screen.
Is there a risk that the new media portal, with the user experience firmly in mind, will get part of the audience of the TV channels to move to VIDEOBEL.BY?
Every resource has always had its users, and it is highly likely to remain so. We have no aim to draw the audience of our colleagues over. Our goal is to facilitate access to the latest news and media contents.
All copyrights are retained for any product placed on the new media portal. Mutual respect is the key to a successful partnership with our colleagues.
Is it possible to draw up a portrait of the target audience?
I do not think it is possible to do. We did not design the platform for a certain target audience, like for example, females under 25 or males 40+ interested in military equipment. We focus on a wider public, on people whom the new resource will assist in forming their own opinion about facts and events, analyzing them independently or together with experts invited to a number of projects. The selected pool of programs shapes the agenda and provides food for thought. They are built on the principle the president has always supported, which is ‘to promote the truth’.
Yelena Ivashko
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