RA government allocates first tranche of AMD 250mln to Public Benefit  Media Fund

ArmInfo.  The state has allocated the first tranche of 250 million drams to the Public  Benefit Media Fund, which is to be distributed among 10 public and  capital city broadcasters, as well as eight regional television  companies. This was announced by Tigran Hakobyan, Chairman of the  National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR), during a press  conference on February 5.

He noted that the members of the Board of Trustees, which includes  recognizable figures from public organizations and government  agencies, will attempt to distribute the funds so that children's  programs, which are woefully in short supply in the country, can be  produced. Alternatively, as Hakobyan put it, the Fund will acquire  international educational cartoons and children's programs and  translate them into Armenian.

The tender, he said, has already been announced, and television  companies submitted their proposals in January. "If the experiment is  successful, the government, international organizations, and, I  believe, the private sector will participate in this process,  resulting in significant funding for children's programming.  And if  everything is successful, we intend to extend this to radio  companies, which also play an important public role," the Commission  head said.