Discussion of the Report on the Activities of the Television and Radio Commission in 2018

Today, the National Assembly presented the report on the activities of the Television and Radio Commission in 2018, with Tigran Hakobyan, the chairman of the commission, as the main speaker.

He noted that in 2018, there were 128 television and radio companies operating in Armenia, of which 118 were licensed, 7 were public, and currently, three are working under intergovernmental agreements. According to him, of these, 100 are television companies, and 18 are radio companies, which receive licenses from the commission, while 7 television and radio companies operate without a license, as the provision of their frequencies is conditioned by laws and intergovernmental programs. Hakobyan mentioned that 35 out of 100 are terrestrial broadcasters that have obtained a license to use limited resources and broadcast in the digital domain, and there are also 65 cable operators, of which 23 are broadcasting in the digital domain.

Tigran Hakobyan mentioned that the revolution fundamentally changed the functions of the Television and Radio Commission.
"Since May, the regulated activities by other centers have been completely eliminated, specifically, the rigid intervention in the editorial, financial, and staffing policies of television and radio companies. Since May, the only regulator in the field is the TV and Radio Commission," he said.

Hakobyan stated that the commission's workload has increased, but clarity has been introduced in the field. "Since May, the institution of 'dobroners' and responsible persons has been abolished, meaning that any activity—be it the sale of shares, the use of public resources, or tender competitions—could not occur without specific instructions. That has now been removed," he remarked.

The head of the commission noted that in the reporting year, the commission granted 19 licenses for its own programs to cable operators. According to Hakobyan, this was not previously allowed due to the political context.

He mentioned that in the reporting year, the commission issued a total of 1520 permits for programs, while the total number of television programs is around 2000. The commission's chairman also pointed out that while a few years ago, 70-80 television programs were under constant monitoring, today, approximately 1800 programs are subject to constant monitoring.