«All Laws with Good Intentions Led to Dismal Consequences» - Tigran Hakobyan

In the last four years, every decision and amendment made by the National Assembly has worsened the financial situation of broadcasters. This was stated by the chairman of the Regulatory Commission for Television and Radio (RCTR) Tigran Hakobyan while answering questions from MPs.

“I do not dispute that correct steps have been taken, but we must always calculate the consequences. The removal of gaming has resulted in television companies suffering financial losses of about 1 billion drams just last year. When the National Assembly decided that 20 percent of broadcasts should be of a public nature, this also required additional expenses, as quality content always demands greater costs. A requirement was imposed for mandatory subtitling, which also incurs extra costs. In other words, all laws, having good intentions, have brought about disastrous financial consequences for broadcasters, which is a problem,” said Hakobyan.

Hakobyan pointed out that under the current conditions, television is becoming dependent on advertisers. “Knowing about these requirements, advertisers can offer worse conditions, and television companies are forced to accept them. A second problem is that lacking money from advertising markets, they become dependent on founders, financial-economic groups, and so forth,” added Hakobyan.