By the amendments made to the Broadcasting Code in 2009, a company was allowed to hold five licenses in broadcasting, while a private individual can have controlling interest in two companies and, respectively, can hold ten licenses, member of the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) Nicolae Damaschin said in an interview for Radio Free Europe, IPN reports.

“After the law was amended, there appeared more persons who we presumed have more than two, three or four licenses. It later turned out to be true. In this matter, we should use the international or European practice, which is closer to us. A simple example: Moldova 1 now has three licenses. This year it will launch Moldova 2, Moldova International, Radio copii and Radio tineret,” said the BCC member.

As to the fact that a bill to amend the Broadcasting Code was rejected last week, Nicolae Damaschin said the minister of justice explained it clearly that another package of amendments is being prepared. “The law should provide what we shall do with the persons who now have more than two licenses in broadcasting,” he stated.

As regards the modification of the order in which the TV channels are broadcast by the national telecoms carrier Moldtelecom, so that the channels owned by politician Vlad Plahotniuc were placed on the first spots, the BCC member said they often tried to regulate this area, but there is no wish to regulate it in Moldova. “For example, in Romania the ten channels with the largest national coverage are mandatorily placed up,” he stated.

Nicolae Damaschin also said that the public TV channel will be given priority in the contest to fill the slots of the first national multiplex. Among the necessities are channels for children, for athletes, a music channel in Romanian and a channel on farming in Romanian.