Conditions Under Which Broadcast Interruptions Will Not Occur Despite Debts: Ministry of High-Tech Industry

The Armenian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (ATRC) is fully fulfilling its contractual obligations, while television companies have inadequately met their own responsibilities under these contracts. The press service of the Ministry of High-Tech Industry has issued a statement regarding temporary interruptions in television broadcasts due to accumulated debts.

The ministry points out that in case of rare technical issues related to broadcast quality, ATRC urgently investigates the problems and provides appropriate solutions. However, in previous years, the payments established were largely underperformed by the television companies, resulting in debts.

It is emphasized that ATRC has given television companies additional time to fulfill their obligations for the services provided, yet payments have mostly not been made. “We are confident that these entities are timely covering the maintenance costs of their structures and other payments to ensure the normal operation of their organizations. However, it is unclear how the approach leading to debts accumulating for years for the services provided by ATRC is justified, which negatively impacts the indirect revenues of the state budget,” the statement reads.

The Ministry of High-Tech Industry stresses that the actions of television companies cannot be justified under any justification. All obligations stipulated in the contracts must be duly fulfilled.

Regarding pricing for services, the ministry recalls that back in March 2021, several television companies had appealed to the Republic of Armenia’s Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition on this matter. After reviewing the issue, the commission closed the administrative proceedings, thus deeming the prices of services provided by ATRC to be justified.

Regarding the constitutional right of Armenian citizens to receive information and the proper coverage of the upcoming elections of the Yerevan Council, the ministry emphasizes that there will be no broadcast interruptions during the main news releases and the campaign advertising period.

On July 18, 20 television companies in Armenia issued a statement demanding that the ATRC stop the shutdowns by the end of this year.