Russian opposition channel TV Dozhd, also known as TV Rain, has been granted a five-year broadcasting license in the Netherlands, the Dutch media authority announced in a statement, politico.eu reports.

Dozhd is given permission “to provide a commercial television broadcasting service via a program channel named ‘TV Rain’ for a period of five years from December 22, 2022,” the statement reads. The license is limited to “television broadcasting.”

One of the few independent TV channels in Russia, Dozhd suspended its operations shortly after Moscow launched its full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, last February.

It had been operating in exile from Latvia since last July, until its broadcasting authorization was revoked by Latvia’s media watchdog in early December amid concerns over the TV channel’s reporting of the war in Ukraine.

Dozhd had already opened a TV studio in Amsterdam as part of its reopening last July.
“TV Rain will move its editorial center to Amsterdam. The Amsterdam studio will become the channel’s main studio,” Dozhd wrote in a statement.

The channel also said it had appealed the Latvian media watchdog’s “unjust” decision.

“The ruling was made behind closed doors without an opportunity for the TV Rain representatives to present their arguments,” Dozhd said. “We will defend our reputation, which we have worked for 13 years to maintain, in court.”

Yet, the Russian outlet said it would not “seek the reinstatement of (its) Latvian license” and resume broadcasting from the Netherlands instead in order to be back on air “as soon as possible.”