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Government Okays Merger of STV and SRo
Wednesday 03 November 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, November 3 (TASR) - The Government on Wednesday approved the proposed Slovak Radio and Television Act, which is aimed at merging Slovak Television (STV) and Slovak Radio (SRo) into a single public service institution as of January 1.
Also okayed was a proposal to deal with the bill via a fast-tracked procedure in Parliament, with the Government pointing to the risk of financial damage as STV is planning a €37-million deficit for 2011.
According to the Culture Ministry, which submitted the proposal, the merger should prevent public broadcasting from falling further into debt and should create the conditions for its consolidation. With the Act's implementation as of 2011, the expected savings amount to at least €1.65 million, mainly coming from cuts in the administrative and economic agenda, as well as the areas of technology, programme production and commercial activities.
The new broadcaster will be a national, independent, cultural, information-providing and educational institution. SRo's and STV's assets will be transferred to it.
A new general director will be elected by Parliament, along with a nine-member Council. The role of the new director will be to consolidate broadcasting and prepare the conditions for running the institution in 2012. As of the beginning of that year, the broadcaster will receive a single allocation from the state budget. Licence fees will be abolished.
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