Broadcasts of Some Television Companies to be Interrupted for 2 Hours Due to Debts

The Ministry of High-Tech Industry has commented on circulating news that the Armenian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (ARTBN) is planning to suspend broadcasts of certain television companies in the near future.

In an interview with Armenpress, the head of the Personnel Management, Legal and Economic Division of the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, Garik Hayrapetyan, stated that according to the contracts signed between the Armenian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network and the television companies, broadcasts can be suspended if the companies do not fulfill their contractual obligations.

“As a result of failing to meet contractual obligations, a number of television companies have accumulated debts. Recently, we have attempted to resolve this issue through negotiations. As a result, some television companies have fully settled their accumulated debts, while others have only partially done so. Nevertheless, according to the contract, we plan to temporarily suspend the broadcasts of several television companies for the first time for a duration of 2 hours,” Hayrapetyan noted, adding that these companies include Shant TV, ATV, Freenews, Dar 21, and Fortuna.

Addressing attempts to give a political context to this process, Garik Hayrapetyan emphasized that this situation is merely a consequence of the violations of contractual obligations by the television companies. “This process is entirely unrelated to the content of the broadcast, and the list of television companies subject to disconnection is evidence of that,” he stated.