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Following the general elections in spring the newly formed Hungarian Parliament has begun to reshape the legislative framework for the media. As its first step the Constitution was amended in early July. The amendment defines the role of public service media (which is to contribute “to preserving the national and European identity, to preserving and enriching Hungarian and minority languages, to strengthening national cohesion and to fulfilling the needs of national, ethnic, religious communities and of the family”). Beyond this broad remit a new provision of the Constitution also defines the basic...

In October 2009 Országos Rádió és Televízió Testület (National Radio and Television Commission - ORTT) completed the tender process granting the right to broadcast two separate radio programme services on the two existing national analogue radio networks for the following seven years. In the previous twelve years these networks were used by the commercial radio broadcasters Danubius Rádió Műsorszolgáltató Zrt. (connected to the EBRD via the Accession Mezzanine Capital) and Sláger Rádió Zrt. (a subsidiary of the US-based Emmis Corporation). Their broadcasting licences expired in November 2009. Earlier...

A Memorandum of Understanding on mutual co-operation and exchange of information between the Czech Council for Radio and TV Broadcasting, the Hungarian National Radio and TV Commission, the Polish National Broadcasting Council, the Romanian National Audiovisual Council, the Serbian Republic Broadcasting Agency and the Slovak Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission was signed on 10 December 2009 in Prague. Each signatory shall prepare a brief summary of the relevant legislation in the respective country for the regulation of the content of and advertising in TV and radio broadcasts. The purpose...

In a decision of 15 October 2009 Nemzeti Hírközlési Hatóság (Hungarian National Communications Authority - NHH) imposed a fine of HUF 40 million (approx. EUR 150,000) on the provider of national DTT and DAB services Antenna Hungária Zrt, AH. The decision was made on the basis of the assessment of AH’s compliance with the terms of its DTT/DAB licence agreements. AH concluded the licence agreements on providing DTT and DAB services with the NHH at the end of 2008 (see IRIS 2008-9: 14). By these agreements AH undertook a number of obligations beyond paying licence fees. Such obligations are for example: -...

On 30 September 2009 a new Code of Advertising Ethics entered into force in Hungary. The self-regulatory instrument was signed on 16 September 2009 by 26 professional associations covering practically the entire national advertising industry. The first Hungarian Code of Advertising Ethics was adopted by the market players in 1981 as the first of such codes in the former Eastern Bloc. Since then the code has been revised several times. However, the last revision took place in 2005 and the Hungarian advertising scene has been the subject of several changes during the past four years (IRIS 2005-10:...