The establishment of a new national Russian-language TV channel, Moldova 3, is seen as a way to diversify information sources for Russian speakers. However, concerns have been raised about state involvement in the media market - these differing opinions were expressed during public consultations on the draft law amending the Audiovisual Media Services Code, IPN reports.
According to the bill’s author, Eugeniu Sinchevici, the state has a duty to reach all citizens, regardless of their language. He argues that the Russian-speaking population has not necessarily had access to sufficient information opportunities, as the state has lacked a language promotion policy over the past 30 years. In his view, creating a public broadcaster in Russian could be a solution.
Sinchevici did not specify the budget allocated for the creation and maintenance of the channel but mentioned, without details, that negotiations are underway for a grant to finance the project.
Valentin Aftenie, a representative of the company Selectcanal SRL, believes this initiative creates discrimination both against other audiovisual media service providers and against viewers. He pointed out that all providers are required to include 80% local content in Romanian, while this channel is proposed to have only 25%.
Aftenie agrees that Russian speakers should have more access to information, but if that is the goal, he suggests saving public funds and instead increasing the share of non-Romanian content from 20% to 30% for all providers - without spending any public money.
Ion Bunduchi, Executive Director of the Electronic Press Association, calls for an in-depth feasibility study before launching Moldova 3. He notes that while there is already plenty of Russian-language content, its quality is questionable. He also raises concerns about the number of regulatory exemptions this new channel might receive.
Entrepreneur Alexandru Versinin argues that state authorities should not intervene in the media market but should instead focus on policies ensuring equal conditions for all actors and the 19 existing TV and radio stations.
This was the first round of public consultations on the proposed legislation.
