Whatever he did to sound unlike a President, the Prime Minister was unsuccessful
Arina Borodina
Preliminary statistics of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's call-in were announced yesterday. TNS Russia data concerned Muscovites above 18 years of age watching it over Russia Channel. Talk with Vladimir Putin attracted almost half the city, though only one government channel showed a live broadcast this time, unlike Putin's previous question-and-answer sessions. The figures show that the Prime Minister retains his tremendous popularity, far outstripping President Dmitry Medvedev.
According to TNS Russia, Talk with Vladimir Putin of December 4 gathered 41.5% of the entire television audience (in other words, almost half of Moscow's potential viewers) with a 7.9% rating, i.e. share of the population. The three hour call-in show was Putin's 8th since 2001 and his first as Prime Minister - not to the detriment of his popularity. On the contrary, his ratings became even more favourable.
The call-in was named Talk with Vladimir Putin - indicatively, with no mention of his post. As Kommersant said on November 18, it was organised this time by only one government television company, VGTRK, to appear nationwide on Russia Channel alone, while all of Putin's previous call-ins were organised by channels One and Russia together.
Putin's call-ins were very popular during his presidency. More than 60% watched the show in October 2007, at the peak of the parliamentary election campaign, when he led the United Russia party ticket and addressed the nation as President for the last time. Channel One had the larger audiences on that and all previous occasions. The first show, in 2001, attracted 52% of Muscovites on Channel One, compared with 17% in Russia Channel's national broadcast. Respective figures for 2007 were 37.41% and 23.3%.
Russia Channel had never seen such ratings as on December 4. Its weekly average in Moscow is slightly above 13%. The call-in gathered three times as many-doubtless, due to Mr Putin's popularity. Indicatively, Talk with Vladimir Putin, which started at noon, was not announced at all; in fact, Russia Channel had scheduled a rerun of the crime serial Bandits' Petersburg for the time. Nonetheless, the show had a vast audience.
As for the demographic composition of the audience, people above 55 years of age (that is, pensioners, who could stay at home on a workday) and children (strange as it is) made up the majority, over 40%. TNS Russia says it twice exceeded the 18-54 age bracket, which accounted for 28.2% in Moscow. The call-in attracted about 40% of viewers above 4 years of age. As for Channel One, the main rival of Russia Channel, its Moscow telephone poll revealed an even greater percentage with the 4 year age threshold - 48.1%. Though such polls are unofficial, the channel proceeds from them in programme choice and scheduling. If Channel One had also shown a live broadcast of Talk with Vladimir Putin, the summary audience would have easily leapt about 70%.
Though the show had a more modest technical format than before, its 40% audience exceeded all television programmes, including serials.
No other public person has higher television ratings than Putin. President Medvedev, whose state-of-the-nation address channels One and Russia cast live a month ago, gathered about 20% on each with a 3% rating.
The organisers and ideologists of Talk with Vladimir Putin formally downgraded him by abstaining from Channel One - perhaps in order to downplay the conspicuous absence of President Medvedev's call-ins. He addresses the nation only through video blog recordings on the official Kremlin website, though the Internet certainly offers much smaller publicity than long live broadcasts televised nationwide.
No less conspicuously, Putin referred to the President only on one occasion during the call-in, and even that in passing, five minutes before the end. United Russia community liaison officers present in the Gostiny Dvor studio and members of the public who contacted the Prime Minister on the telephone and television linkups addressed him as the only national leader, and their questions concerned a vast range of topics, from unemployment, suspended wage payments and mortgaging problems to the tiger cub he had recently received as a gift. One of the audience asked Mr Putin to become a wizard.