In December 2013, just before Christmas, an official announcement confirmed what had been previously rumoured for months. The German television channel ProSiebenSat1 sold its Hungarian subsidiary, the MTM-SBS Ltd., which owns TV2, Hungary’s second largest commercial television channel. The transaction is mired in a number of odd circumstances, however. By Ágnes Urbán. It is unusual […]
How and why did the public service stations Kossuth Rádió and Dankó Rádió get hold of the frequency previously used by Neo FM? How did the redrawing of Hungary’s radio frequency map affect the already troubled radio market and the diversity of media services? That’s what we set to find out. By Gábor Polyák. In […]
The one year anniversary of the shuttering of Neo FM is looming. We will leave aside for once how Neo FM received a license to use a frequency in the first place, nor will we shed tears for a station that owes its very existence to political backroom dealings. Nevertheless, it is worth examining the […]
The Mertek Media Monitor launched a public dialogue that lasts several months. The objective of the debate is to reach and engage the widest possible range of stakeholders and to rethink the media regulation framework with their participation. The debate also brings to the public attention those professional considerations and interests that are required in […]
The Mertek Media Monitor launched a public dialogue that lasts several months. The objective of the debate is to reach and engage the widest possible range of stakeholders and to rethink the media regulation framework with their participation. The debate also brings to the public attention those professional considerations and interests that are required in […]
The digital switchover campaign has been ongoing for months. Using data that has become available thus far, we have analysed the channels that the authorities use to inform the affected households, and hence also the question of what media outlets benefit from the state’s spending of billions of forints. Based on the numbers available to […]
It is widely known that the media industry has faced growing hardships over the past decade: the internet and its concomitant, free content, has already emerged as serious challenges, but it was the economic crisis beginning in 2008 that rendered the situation truly dramatic. Today, we can assert that the media market’s current functioning is […]
The signatories of this letter of consultation are specialized civil organisations with a long history of commitment to the freedoms of speech and press and extensive professional experience in this area. Said organizations were very pleased that, partly in response to the situation of the Hungarian media, the European Commission has set up the working […]
Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland Secretary General Council of Europe 4 February 2013, Budapest Esteemed Council of Europe, Dear Secretary General, Hungarian NGOs for protection of human rights, freedom of speech and freedom of press express their concern about the prospects of the Hungarian media regulation. The agreement between the Council of Europe and […]
The total overhaul of media regulations has served as a sort of dress rehearsal for the power techniques of the Fidesz-KDNP government. The process has involved the complete removal of checks and balances from the institutional system, along with the cementing of trusted party cadres in place. More importantly, it has also entailed the domestication […]