As LETA agency was informed by the representatives of VAS “Latvijas valsts radio and televsionis centrs” (LVRTC), instead of the previous six programs, only four television programs will be broadcast – LTV1 and LTV7, “ReTV” and the program of the Ukrainian broadcasting organization RADA.
The chairman of the National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP) Ivars Āboliņš states that TV24 and TV4 have decided not to be in free broadcasting anymore, so these programs will no longer be seen there from January 1.
Aboliņš promises that “NEPLP will look for opportunities and next year, perhaps, the range of programs will expand”. LETA informed the NEPLP agency that it plans to re-announce the tender to support participation in free broadcasting.
In September 2024, NEPLP announced that, after evaluating the submitted offers in the competition for the three vacant spots in free terrestrial broadcasting, SIA “Re Media” with the television program “ReTV” and SIA “4.vara” with the television program TV4 were recognized as the winners. no applications were received for the third free places. Now it can be seen that TV4, which won the competition, chose not to extend the contract either.
The council explains that NEPLP will transfer the budget funds allocated to it, intended for financing free terrestrial broadcasting, to the Latvian State Radio and Television Center. The total amount of costs for the first network of free terrestrial broadcasting remains unchanged, as it does not depend on the number of television programs in free terrestrial broadcasting, says NEPLP.
As Kristaps Zālītis, a member of the board of TV4, explained to the LETA agency, the television wanted to remain in free broadcasting, but being in national broadcasting is still a burden for the company, because it gives it the status of a company important for national security.
“This status is a burden for the company group as a whole. We are SIA “4.vara” in Latvia, but we have a much larger parent company, therefore any transaction with SIA “4.vara” – the creator of TV4 – must be approved by the Latvian government,” explained Zālītis .
Zālītis emphasized that TV4 will continue its work, the channel has agreed with the distribution operators and will be available, but in a smaller coverage.
Earlier, Klāvs Kalniņš, director of the TV24 channel created by JSC “TV Latvija”, explained that TV24 will continue broadcasting next year, but will leave free broadcasting, instead cooperating with cable television operators and strengthening content availability on digital platforms.
As Kalniņš presented, the dynamics of the media industry is changing rapidly and, looking at the future perspectives, it is clear that the channel will no longer be able to rely only on advertising revenue, which nowadays flows to global digital platforms.
The chairman of the LVRTC board, Đirts Ozols, states that the exclusion of the programs – TV4 and TV24 – from free broadcasting will take place exactly on the anniversary, when in many households watching holiday TV programs is part of the traditions of welcoming the New Year, therefore Ozols calls on the residents not to worry about the fact that the programs are no longer broadcast on the air two programs and not attribute it to technical problems or cyber attacks.
After the programs are switched off, viewers of free-to-air TV broadcasts on TV24 and TV4 will see an informative notice that their free-to-air TV broadcasts are no longer broadcast.
At the same time, TV24 and TV4 programs will be visible to viewers of paid terrestrial TV broadcasts after retuning the receiver or decoder.
It has already been reported that LVRTC’s turnover in 2023 was 25.788 million euros, which is 2.3% more than the year before, while the company’s profit increased by 2.9 times and was 16.314 million euros.
LVRTC is the main terrestrial network operator of radio and television programs in the country. LVRTC manages parts of the state-owned mobile operator “Latvijas mobilais telefons” (LMT).
“4.vara”, according to “Firmas.lv” data, was registered in 2007, and the company’s share capital is 2,843 euros. In 2023, the company worked with a turnover of 5.267 million euros and a profit of 272,144 euros.
The sole owner of the company “4.varas” is the Swedish “Silver Spring Media”.
“TV Latvija” closed the year 2023 with a turnover of 790,850 euros and with a loss of 182,606 euros, according to information published by “Firmas.lv”. The company was registered in 2007, and its share capital is 800,004 euros. The real beneficiaries of the company are Kalniņš and Rūdolfs Īkis.