1 / 4

At the joint sitting of the NA Standing Committees on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth and Sport and on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs, the Chairman of the Council of Public Television and Radio Company Ara Shirinyan presented the draft of the financing request for 2022 of the Council of Public Broadcaster and the made amendments. One programme is implemented - broadcast of TV and radio programmes, which consists of 5 events.

The aim of the programme is to create and disseminate a variety of information, cognitive, entertaining and educational television and radio programmes around Armenia and beyond its borders for 24-hour. The public broadcasters produce and broadcast 4 television and 4 radio programmes.

Ara Shirinyan detailed the content and the nature of the programmes of the Public Radio and the Public TV Company.

It is envisaged to allocate 7bln 465mln AMD by the draft budget for 2022 without the expenditures of the management staff. The expenditures increased by 256mln AMD compared to 2021. The increase of 212mln AMD is conditioned by the launch of a new 24-hour news channel of the Public TV Company in the capital. The increase of 35.4mln AMD is conditioned by the redistribution of the expenditures for the event of a membership in the international organizations.

The rapporteur noted that in 2022, the budget allocations of the Public TV Company increased only by 4%. According to him, the allocations will allow to ensure the current activities of both the First channel and 24-hour news channel.

In 2022, it is planned to start three-year capital programme of digital technical re-equipment of the Public TV Company. During the coming two-three years, it is envisaged to equip the techno park of the First channel. As Ara Shirinyan has said, partial technical investments have been made for years, which now does not correspond with the modern technical requirements.

“In 2022, it is planned to attract credit resources of up to 1bln 700mln AMD on preferential terms operating in the market for technical re-equipment, as well as to use the financial inflows from commercial advertising and other revenues,” the Chairman of the Council of the Public Television and Radio Company said.

The Executive Director of the Public TV Company Hovannes Movsisyan participated in the sitting and responded to the questions that the deputies were interested in. The questions were related to the financing of the debate to be organized by the Public TV Company on the eve of the elections with the participation of the candidates of the Council of Elders and to the formats of sport, cultural and educational programmes etc.