Reform of public-service media in Slovakia

Reform of public-service media in Slovakia: Slovak Television and Slovak Radio (STV and SRo) are to be merged into a single public-service institution from January 1, 2011. The merger of Slovak Television and Slovak Radio was initiated by the government in Bratislava last Wednesday in parliament, through an expedited legislative procedure for a new Slovak Radio and Television Act (RTS).

Slovakia’s Minister of Culture, Daniel Krajcer, called the reform of the country’s public-service media and the resulting merger of Slovak Radio and Slovak Television an “essential step.” The reform is to be implemented gradually over several years. The planned measures include abolishing the current funding model for Slovak media: licence fees are to be abolished on January 1, 2012. As the final step in the reform of public-service media in Slovakia, radio and television will move into a shared building.

Slovakia’s culture minister stressed that expediting the procedure, and thereby accelerating the reform, was urgently necessary given the current circumstances: Slovak Television faces a loss of €37 million in 2011. The Ministry of Culture is leading the reform in Slovakia and expects the changes to save more than €1.6 million next year alone. The administrative, technical and programming departments of television and radio can be merged, allowing them to operate more efficiently and at lower cost. The new Slovak Radio and Television Act (RTS) appears to offer “salvation” for Slovakia’s public-service media.