Ukraine

[UA] Annual Report of the National Council of Ukraine on TV and Radio Broadcasting

IRIS 2006-3:1/36

Taras Shevchenko

Media Law Institute, Kiev

On 31 January 2006 the National Council of Ukraine on TV and Radio Broadcasting, a state authority responsible for the development of TV and radio broadcasting of Ukraine, approved its Annual Report for 2005 and submitted it to the Supreme Rada (parliament) and to the President of Ukraine.

This report consists of 6 parts which highlight information on the results of licensing for the reporting period; as well compliance of TV and radio companies with licensing requirements; with legal requirements as to the quota of the national product for broadcasting, with legal requirements on advertising and sponsorship; with legal requirements as to the share of foreign investments in the statuary fund of TV and radio companies; analysis of the situation regarding fair competition and monopolization of broadcasting market.

According to the Report, the State Register of TV and Radio Companies contains data on 1268 broadcasters including 647 TV companies, 524 radio companies; 97 TV and radio companies. During the reporting period 380 licenses were issued, including 270 for TV broadcasting and 110 for radio broadcasting. In 2005 the Council requested the State Centre on Radio Frequencies of Ukraine that technical permission be issued for 649 new frequencies for the needs of broadcasting, among which 295 frequencies were already put up for competition. It was also reported that in 2006 new frequencies for analogue broadcasting will cease to be issued by the recommendation of the International Telecommunications Union.

Problems with wired radio were also noted in the report. The number of households with wired radio fell from 19.5 millions in 1990 to 8.5 millions in 2005. The main reason for such a decrease was reported to be the absence of funds to maintain and replace lines in rural areas.