Slovakia

[SK] Broadcasting Act amendments Get Thumbs-down / Fine on Private TV Operator Lifted

IRIS 1998-5:1/24

Alexander Scheuer

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

In February, the Slovak Parliament finally rejected a number of amendments to the Radio and Television Broadcasting Act, and also to the Slovak Television (STV) and Slovak Radio (SR) Acts.

The proposed amendments were primarily intended to prevent any company or individual from using licences lawfully issued to other operators for their own broadcasting purposes. The key to this was a regulation under which bought material must never account for 100% of the total STV and SR programme.

The Radio and Television Council of the Slovak Republic had warned Markísa-Slovakia LTD., owner of markisa TV, the country's largest private terrestrial television station, in connection with concealed advertising and taken proceedings against it. In May 1997, the Council claimed that the offence had been repeated and fined the company 400,000 Skr. for violating Section 6 of Act No. 220/96. This decision was appealed to the Slovak Supreme Court, which quashed the fine at the end of February.