Hungary

[HU] Media Authority Asks Foreign Company to Pull Out

IRIS 2001-8:1/20

Alexander Scheuer

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

In a decision published at the end of August, the Országos Rádió és Televízió Testület (ORTT), the Hungarian national radio and television authority, expressed its views on Bertelsmann's media involvement in Hungary. Bertelsmann, which operates the Hungarian commercial TV station RTL Klub through its involvement with the RTL Group, and which also controls the high-circulation national newspaper Nepszabadsag, was ordered to give up its ownership of one of these companies within 180 days.

Under Chapter 8 of Media Act No.I/1996, which contains regulations on media ownership, a company that holds shares in TV channels may not also own or have significant control over a national daily newspaper (Sections 125-126). The ORTT referred to these provisions in its decision. Bertelsmann has announced that it intends to find a solution to the problem soon.