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Saeima passes bill about withdrawal of public broadcasters from advertising market in 2021

BC, Riga, 21.06.2018.Print version
The Latvian parliament on June 20th passed in the final reading the bill about withdrawal of the public broadcasters from the advertising market in 2021, informs LETA.

As regards the financing needed for the purpose, the lawmakers will have to vote on it when adopting the respective annual or multi-annual national budget.


The parliament's press service said that, under the amendments to the Law on the Electronic Mass Media adopted today, the public broadcasters were to leave all advertising market platforms, starting from 2021.


The legislative amendments also seek to strengthen the Latvian media environment by promoting wider availability of high-quality reliable content in the electronic mass media.


Starting from 2021, the public electronic mass media will be granted additional financing based on the revenue they used to receive from commercials and the costs of replacing commercials with original content.


"A guaranteed independent financing to the public broadcasters will enhance their editorial independence," MP Inese Laizane (National Alliance), the chairwoman of the committee on human rights and public affairs, said earlier, stressing that restricting the amount of hostile and fake information, including in the electronic mass media, was a matter of national security.


The state-owned company Latvijas Valsts Radio un Televizijas Centrs (LVRTC, Latvian State Radio and Television Center) will be responsible for supplying end-users with certain free TV content.


The costs are to be financed from the state budget. LVRTC terrestrial transmitters can deliver TV programs to 99.6 percent of Latvia's territory, reaching 99.9 percent of the population without additional cost to households.






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