Armenian television commission calls for strong regulation of foreign broadcasters

The Chairman of the Television and Radio Commission of Armenia Tigran Hakobyan has called for stronger regulation and restriction of foreign television broadcasts in the country.

Speaking at a press conference, Hakobyan said without strong regulation it would be impossible to prevent the infiltration of foreign political agendas. 

“We find strict regulation of broadcasts of foreign television programs to be highly important. Legislative changes that would rule out the promotion of other countries’ political agendas in the public multiplex are needed, with the exception of programs that are designed for children or are of cultural nature, with Armenian translation, at least with subtitles,” he said.

He recalled the public disapproval of the content of Russian television programs, stating that it would be far easier to prevent the situation had there been political will to restrict such programs in the past.

But he also said that it’s not just about Russian programs.

“In order to be clear, our problem isn’t just about restricting Russian programs, but overall the strict limitation of foreign programs. For example, the French ARTEfr channel had presented the map of South Caucasus without Armenia. Now, this television channel wants to enter the Armenian multiplex. In such case, if we allow the French side, we will have to allow other allies and friendly countries too. As a result, the public multiplex, which has been created with taxpayer funds, will become the theater of these interstate clashes and information wars,” Hakobyan warned.