In the next few day, Armenia’s 15 regional analog broadcasters will appeal to the President Serzh Sargsyan, the prime minister and the Speaker of the National Assembly with a request of not exposing their being or not being to danger.
Note that the analog TV channels without the digitization license will appear in a very difficult situation – under threat of closure after July, next year.
In conversation with Aravot.am, founder and Director of “Lori” TV Company Narine Avetisyan said that among regional TV stations, only “GALA” refuse to sign underneath the letter reasoning that they would not sign underneath the letter of any request addressed to Serzh Sargsyan. “It is not that the TV channels without digitization license are weak or failure. The subject of digitization has a political sub-context. We have not participated in the contest at all, because the winner was already determined and not to give a further legalization to this so-called tender, we just did not take part, however, it does not mean that we agreed with the idea that we should terminate our activities after the expiry of the analog license. We were thinking that we would find ways and continue to broadcast.”
Note that “Fortuna” TV is broadcast in Lori marz by a digital license.
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“Lori” TV founder and director Narine Avetisyan. Photo from Facebook page.
Narine Avetisyan also said that the leaders of analog TV Companies in the region would also submit a joint offer on broadcast. “We offer issuance of a license by free procedures.”
To our observation that the Head of “Armenia’s television and radio network” company Grigor Amalyan claim saying that the problem of passing to digital television for regional TV Companies is possible in the range of 1000-1500 dollars, Narine Avetisyan, first, did not agree that the matter goes around this small amount, and then said, “I do not know what calculations are they, at this point, I cannot say on how much it will actually cost. But according to the law on television and radio, all private TV channels have the same status, but it turns out that the state enables nine regional television broadcast to broadcast at the expense of the state, because they are the so-called winners of the tender, while the others do not have this opportunity, moreover, in the event of investing their own funds, if they wish to continue working, they do not have even this opportunity by the law. Thus, the right of our, the broadcasters, is violated.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
