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On 5 September 2008 the representatives of the Nemzeti Hírközlési Hatóság (National Communications Authority - NHH) and the national transmission company Antenna Hungária (AH) signed the agreements on the launch of commercial DTT and DAB services. The signature has closed the tendering procedures initiated in March 2008 (see IRIS 2008-5:12). In spring the NHH published two separate invitations to tender. One concerned the right to operate five terrestrial TV broadcasting networks while the subject of the other call was the operation of one terrestrial DAB network. Both of the tenders concerned...

The framework of State support provided for the production and distribution of films in Hungary is defined by Act II of 2004 on Motion Picture (Film Act; see IRIS 2004-2: 13). The State support scheme was approved by the European Commission shortly following its establishment; however, the term of this approval has expired in 2008. This led to the revision of the film support scheme. The subsequent assessment by the Commission has revealed that the Film Act needs certain amendments. However, none of the necessary amendments influences fundamentally the framework as established in 2004. The Hungarian...

The European Commission has closed its procedure in accordance with Article 2a of the TVWF Directive involving the Romanian and the Hungarian media authorities and a television broadcaster called Cool Tv. Cool Tv is a television channel operating under Romanian jurisdiction but broadcasting in the Hungarian language for primarily Hungarian audiences. In recent years the Országos Rádió és Televízió Testület (Hungarian National Radio and Television Commission - ORTT) has received several complaints from viewers regarding one particular programme of the broadcaster entitled “Cool Sex”. The programme,...

In April 2007 the Országos Rádió és Televízió Testület (National Radio and Television Commission - ORTT) made a series of decisions establishing that several satellite television broadcasters shall be qualified as broadcasters with a national area of reception. Previously these broadcasters were considered as “regional” broadcasters given their encoded mode of transmission and taking into account their actual presence on the Hungarian cable networks. As a result the broadcasters affected by the decisions faced a set of new obligations. These included additional limitations on ownership, an increased...

In a judgement of 8 April 2008, the Hungarian Constitutional Court evaluated the procedure for defining broadcasting fees by the Országos Rádió és Televízió Testület (National Radio and Television Commission - ORTT) and established that the lack of detailed criteria in this regard as defined by law is not compatible with the Constitution. On the basis of the regulation provided by Act I. of 1996 on Radio and Television Broadcasting (Broadcasting Act), broadcasters under the jurisdiction of Hungary are obliged to pay an annual broadcasting fee. The broadcasting fee is the income of the Broadcasting...