ArmInfo.Current format The National Commission on Television and Radio of RA was comfortable with the previous authorities, since often the issues of the activities of broadcasters were resolved in other offices. This was announced on January 16 by the head of this commission, Tigran Hakobyan, during parliamentary hearings on legislative changes in the field of audiovisual media.
According to him, some aspects of the Commission's activities, including those related to its financing and legislative regulation, amaze international experts. In this regard, it was pointed out that it was necessary to expand its powers, which would be beneficial not only to broadcasters, but also to the public. <This is not about restricting freedom of speech. The issuance of broadcasting licenses under the outdated law "On Television and Radio" will endanger the mental and physical health of our citizens, "he said, adding that the law should have been changed 10-15 years ago, and this need has not ripened for changes in the political system, and is a requirement of the XXI century. As was emphasized, the legislation weakly regulates legal relations in this area, and does not contribute to the development of television companies. In particular, from the point of view of the need to expand control, Hakobyan drew attention to the unequal conditions of competition, because, due to the new media culture, business entities had the opportunity to broadcast on other platforms. This, on the one hand, increases the risk of violation of copyright and other rights, and on the other hand, deprives the control body of the opportunity to apply appropriate sanctions in case of violations. As a result of this, as was noted, television companies are in unequal conditions. Hakobyan noted that the technical licensing of television companies should be eliminated, and instead, following the example of other countries, a system of tight control over the content should be introduced in order to ensure pluralism of opinions. He drew attention to the fact that in Armenia, unlike other countries, including the post-Soviet space, the standards of public multiplex are not developed. <In our opinion, 50- 70% of programs should be in Armenian, and up to 40% should be in local production, which will help limit low-quality content, "he said.
The expert informed that in the republic cable broadcasting covers 35-40% of households. Meanwhile, according to him, the principles of cable networks should be changed, since they, as he put it, are absurd, and they cannot be regulated by the Commission.
In total, cable networks provide access to about 400 television channels, of which only 14.6% are local, which jeopardizes language security. In addition, according to him, Armenia is the only country in which, through the public multiplex, foreign television channels broadcast. According to Hakobyan, this issue needs to be reviewed.