BRATISLAVA, October 6, (WEBNOVINY) — „I am a supporter of a dual system and will do everything in my power so that it is preserved in Slovakia,“ stated Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer with regard to the co-existence of public service media along with commercial media on the market. Nevertheless, a change in the funding of the public-service television and radio in Slovakia is inevitable, he added. “With regard to the situation in the Slovak Television, if I did not take action very soon, in a year or two a legitimate request from a part of the political and social spectrum would be on the table “why do we need Slovak Television that keeps generating losses, so let us cancel it,” said the Culture and Tourism Minister in an interview for SITA news agency. He also claims that he wants to do “the maximum in order to have public service media for which we, as a society, are willing to pay. Without that, the management of at least one of this media, which means the television, will continue to stretch out its hand and ask for more money”, he said.
The Culture Minister announced that a new funding system for the Slovak Television (STV) and Slovak Radio (SRo) would be launched at the beginning of 2012. The fees that electricity consumes pay for the public service media should be replaced by a percentage allocation in the state budget defined by law. Krajcer further criticized the so-called independence of the Television and Radio Councils. According to him, members of the councils are political nominees, and claiming that they are independent is nonsense and lying to people.
The new minister plans to change the legislation so that if management of a medium generates loss, it can be dismissed immediately. Furthermore, STV should not try to extend its services, as it is unable to run properly its present three channels.
The situation in the Slovak Television, according to the minister, is catastrophic. “The loss this year will be probably EUR 17 million in spite of getting a EUR 12.5 million subsidy [for the production of programs based on a contract with the state – editor’s note]. He added that the management, with consent of the STV Council, approved a budget for this year which is obviously unrealistic. The budget also counts on a state subsidy, which has not been promised, he added.
SITA