Director General of public broadcaster Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS) Lubos
Machaj welcomes the changes in the financing of RTVS, approved by Parliament on Tuesday.
Machaj called the approved bill a good solution to the problem of RTVS financing.
"(The new way) will enable the continuation of the current trend and the meeting of strategic aims in terms of the development of own production, the resolution of technological deficits, support for film and television production and the development of cultural and creative industry," said the RTVS director. He voiced sadness, however, at the failure to also anchor the changes in the Constitution. "We would have avoided any casting of doubt in the future."
The new model of financing will scrap license fees, the main source of RTVS' income, as of July, and instead introduce state contributions at 0.17 percent of GDP.
Both ex-premier and 'Democrats' leader Eduard Heger and SaS chair Richard Sulik welcomed the change in the financing. Heger claimed that “we've secured stable financing for RTVS," and added that this financing will be independent of political influences.
Sulik stated that “as of July 1, the people will stop paying the license fee, which was a totally unsustainable way of financing RTVS. This is the measure we in SaS championed. The state contribution at 0.17 percent of GDP poses an adequate replacement of licence fees and the model of financing via direct GDP transfer will ensure a higher level of independence than the previous financing."
Source: TASR
