The concentration of media ownership in Moldova has increased in the last period with the Socialist party owning more and more TV channels, where the party promotes its ideas and its political views. While investigating the media climate in Moldova and taking a closer look at the recent decisions of the Audiovisual Coordinating Council, the key media oversight authority, ZdG found out that around four TV channels belong to companies or persons that have close ties with the Socialist Party. At the same time, the Audiovisual Council facilitated the concentration of media ownership in the case of the four TV Channels in the hands of the Socialist Party through its decisions.

Accent TV has been renamed into First in Moldova and has obtained the right to relay broadcasts of the Russian television channel Perviy Kanal. Later, the founding company, affiliated with the Socialist Party, received another broadcast license for Accent TV.

Accent TV has become First în Moldova

Telesistem TV, the founder of the television station Accent TV, submitted an application requesting the change of the television station name from Accent TV to the First in Moldova. At the meeting of the Coordinating Audiovisual Council on October 21, Stanislav Vîjga, the representative of the company, said that Telesistem TV signed a contract with the television station Perviy Kanal in the Russian Federation, through which they obtained the possibility to relay its programs in the Republic of Moldova.

The members of the Coordinating Audiovisual Council voted unanimously to renew the license and rename the television station by changing the Accent TV logo to First in Moldova.

From the information provided by Nicolae Dastic, the head of the Licensing and Authorization Directorate of the Coordinating Audiovisual Council, the television station Accent TV first obtained, following a contest, a slot through multiplex A, and then the license was renewed by renaming it.

Telesistem TV was created by the Media Invest Service, founded by Vadim Ciubara. RISE Moldova wrote in an investigation that he was the “shadow adviser” of President Igor Dodon.

Previously, it was General Media Group Corp, whose founder is Vladimir Plahotniuc and who owns the Prime television station, that had such a contract with the Russian television station, but, according to Vîjga, it was not an exclusive contract and had to be terminated.

ZdG repeatedly called General Media Group Corp to request details regarding the contract with Pervîi Kanal. Its representatives said they would phone back, but they didn’t do it yet.

Accent TV gets a new broadcast license 

After the creation of the channel First in Moldova, Telesistem TV requested the Coordinating Audiovisual Council to issue a new broadcast license for the television station Accent TV. 

The company representative held that the company got access to credits that previously had been inaccessible, now that they received the possibility of retransmitting the Russian television station. Vîjga related these possibilities to the opening of the advertising market for the company he runs.

At the meeting of the Coordinating Audiovisual Council, when it was voted to grant another license to the television station Accent TV, Olga Guțuțui, its member, expressed her regrets about what is happening on the Moldovan media market. 

“In fact, we are witnessing the concentration of the media under the influence of certain political factors and as long as we tolerate this, changes in the Moldovan media market will not exist,” said Guțuțui at the meeting, voting against issuing the license for Accent TV. 

Even so, with six “pro” votes and one “against” vote, Accent TV received a broadcast license for a period of nine years, and will reach the public through media service distributors.

Media NGOs ask the Audiovisual Council not to facilitate the concentration of media ownership 

As a result of these events, several NGOs have expressed concern about the latest decisions of the Audiovisual Council, which stimulate the concentration of media ownership in Moldova. Their statement shows that the Council decisions facilitate the consolidation of the Socialist Party affiliated media holding through companies and persons close to this Party. 

In addition to the fact that Telesistem became the beneficiary of the First in Moldova and Accent TV television stations, two other televisions belong to the Socialist Party: NTV Moldova, which broadcasts the Russian NTV channel, and Exclusiv TV, which broadcasts TNT, both being administered by Exclusiv Media, founded by Corneliu Furculiță, deputy of the Socialist Party.

Also, the NGOs drew the attention of the members of the Audiovisual Council that the monitoring of the television stations affiliated with the Socialist party shows that while reflecting the most important topics of the public agenda they massively favored and openly promoted the Socialist candidates, placing their counter-candidates in a negative context. The statement also pointed out that these decisions of the Audiovisual Council could create a situation similar to that attested in previous years.

“We ask the Council members to respect not only the rule of the law, but also its spirit, so as to ensure media pluralism and not admit the creation of dominant situations in the media market,” the statement ran, appealing to the Audiovisual Council to review the Accent TV file so as to ensure the right of citizens to accurate, impartial and well-intended information.

Irina Astahova, the spokesperson of the Socialist party, reacted to the appeal and mentioned that the NGOs just expressed their opinion, and we live in a democratic state. 

“The Socialist Party proceeds in accordance with the law. If we had violated the law, we probably would have been punished. NGOs must carry out a certain activity, express their opinion. This is an ordinary thing in a state of law,” the spokesperson concluded.

Ion Bunduchi, a media expert, believes that it is dangerous for televisions to be politically affiliated, because in this way they have a greater impact on people’s minds. In his opinion, it would be great for politicians to go into politics, and for televisions to inform, educate and entertain. When politicians and television stations shake hands, people become influenced by the ideology of a party.

“It may happen that we are all under an ideology that dominates the country. A state can prosper when there is a free circuit of ideas in society, and man chooses the one he likes,” Bunduchi believes. 

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When there are media empires, then the free market for ideas is drastically narrowed, and all the people start to think the same. In his opinion, the Republic of Moldova has gone through such a lesson, and it has not learned from it. 

“There was a time when everyone thought the same. This led to nothing. Now, history repeats itself. As the government changes, the redistribution of the media market begins. It’s sad. It is obvious that we have not matured as a society, as a state in terms of mentality or political culture,” the expert added.

According to the IS Radiocomunicații data, three public television networks operate on the territory of Moldova. The share of the population of Moldova receiving public television programs from the first network constitutes 99.9 percent, the second – 89.2 percent and – 95.9 percent respectively.

The state networks that broadcast Canal 2 and Prime – put out to competition

Telestar Media and General Media Group Corp, the founders of Canal 2 and Prime stations, both affiliated with Vladimir Plahotniuc, former leader of the Democratic Party, gave up broadcasting these television stations through the state networks II and III of analogue terrestrial television. 

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Consequently, the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure issued a note to the Audiovisual Council, stating the need to organize a competition for the use of these networks, as a matter of urgency, by March 1, 2020. 

On the other hand, by March 2020, Moldova must move from the analogue television system to the digital system. If, by then, this transition will not take place, the term of these networks use will be extended. Vadim Brânzan, Ex-Minister of Economy stated in a program on TV 8 (October 31) that both channels paid the state around 61,600 

euros (1.2 million lei) for the use of these networks. 

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