Exclusiv Media SRL, which was founded by Socialist MP Corneliu Furculita, won the right to retransmit the Russian TV channel NTV under the name NTV Moldova. The broadcast license was issued by the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) on December 8, IPN reports

Under the project presented to the Council, the new TV channel will be a universal one that will promote the European values. It will broadcast news programs, national and purchased feature programs, health and recreational programs, films, etc.

The decision to issue the license was passed by seven votes for and one against. One member of the Council was absent. Olga Gututui voted against, arguing NTV Moldova aims to bring back the Russian news bulletins on screen. By such a decision, a step backward is taken in the fight against propaganda. Also, many of the program titles indicated in the broadcast schedule are copied.

BCC member Nicolae Damaschin said he voted for issuing the license, but the broadcaster should guarantee that the Russian news bulletins will not be retransmitted.

The Council’s chairman Dinu Ciocan said the current project was improved compared with the variant presented in the previous meeting, when it was rejected. It’s not the case to limit the development of the media market. The broadcaster should yet obey the Broadcasting Code and will be penalized if it deviates from it.

In the past, NTV was retransmitted by TV7 with local insertions that were mainly in Romanian. This spring, TV7 renounced the news bulletins produced by the Russian TV channel.