In times of crisis the government is creating a new crisis for television companies, Media advocate initiative said in a statement.

“The draft law on amending and supplementing the RA Law on Television and Radio was adopted by the National Assembly in the first reading. As a result, Public Television was given the opportunity to broadcast commercial advertising. Thus, many private television companies that are not state- funded will undergo a crisis. Public TV receives $ 1․200․000 per month from the state budget, in case of the right to broadcast advertising, unequal conditions for private TV companies will be created.

Because of the coronavirus epidemic, advertisers have already cut their advertising budgets or removed them. The government does not solve the crisis with this move; on the contrary, it creates a new crisis for private TV companies. In fact, this is yet another step towards putting pressure on private TV companies and terminating their activities,” the statement said.