The National Assembly of Armenia, at its session on October 22, approved in the first reading a bill to remove the “Shogakat” TV channel from the public multiplex.

The bill was supported by 63 deputies, while 31 voted against it.

The bill proposes amendments to the “On Audiovisual Media” law. It foresees reducing the number of public broadcasters under current legislation from three to two. At the same time, the bill removes the requirement for programs of educational and cultural content.

The authors of the bill are MPs Sisak Gabrielyan and Tagui Kazaryan from the ruling “Civil Contract” party.