The television channels “Premiera TV” and “Next TV” have been fined a total of 130,000 lei for violating provisions of the Audiovisual Media Services Code (AMSC) related to local programming. The decision was made on Friday, December 13, 2024, by members of the Audiovisual Council (AC)
“Premiera TV aired only one local program (‘Crime report’) with a total duration of 3 hours, 5 minutes, and 26 seconds, out of the required weekly minimum of 56 hours of local audiovisual programming. Additionally, the percentage of first-broadcast local programs amounted to 6% instead of the required minimum of 50%, and the share of local programs aired during prime time was 4% instead of the required minimum of 75%. Meanwhile, Next TV broadcast no local audiovisual programs during the reporting period,” the AC’s detailed decision stated.
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The same AC statement mentioned that both channels were sanctioned in August this year for failing to comply with the same AMSC regulations.
AC President Liliana Vitu stated, “The monitoring in question highlights a concerning situation, illustrating a persistent trend in the local audiovisual space: many license applicants promise to fully comply with AMSC provisions related to local content but later predominantly air Russian-produced and/or Russian-language content, with little to no local programming.” She emphasized that in these circumstances, the biggest victim is the audience, deprived of news and programs about events in their own country.
AC members Eugeniu Ribca and Larisa Turea voted against sanctioning the targeted channels for most identified violations.