15. 10. 2012

BROADCASTING LICENSE NOT AFFECTED BY CHANGE OF OWNER

Belgrade, October 15, 2012 (Danas) - Broadcasting licenses were issued to legal entities, not to their owners and the recent change in ownership structure of TV Avala, much like B92 and former Fox TV, now TV Prva, cannot, by no means, be seen as a frequencies' trade, said the Deputy Chairman of the RBA Council, Goran Karadzic.

According to Karadzic, the frequencies had been allocated to companies with specific personal identification number and registration number, which they had used in their applications in the national frequency competition. When these companies change their owners, the company remains the holder of the license.

"With the very first request for the change of the ownership structure of a broadcaster, the RBA had sought the interpretation of the legal provisions from the Ministry of Culture. Since then, the RBA has granted around 100 consents for change of owner of national, regional and local broadcasters", Karadzic explained.

Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade Rade Veljanovski says the Broadcasting Law will be replaced with the Law on Electronic Media, whose draft was prepared and tabled to the government in July this year. However, according to the Professor, neither this draft foresees the solution that would regulate this area and prevent the potential trading of frequencies when changing ownership structure.