Nova TV and RTL Croatia have filed objections to the 100,000-euro fines issued by the Council for Electronic Media (VEM) in June for insufficient investment in works by Croatian independent producers. The court is set to rule on the matter in mid-October.
In accordance with the provisions of the Misdemeanor Act, the broadcasters submitted objections to the imposed fines, and the cases have been forwarded to the relevant Municipal Misdemeanor Court in Zagreb, VEM confirmed to Hina.
“Since the process is ongoing (it has just begun), we cannot comment on the status of the case or the claims of the accused. The hearings are scheduled for mid-October,” stated the Croatian media regulator.
In June, the Council for Electronic Media (VEM) imposed the 100,000-euro fines on Nova TV and RTL Croatia for violating a legal provision requiring broadcasters to allocate at least 2.5% of their total annual gross revenue for works by Croatian independent producers last year.
Additionally, the media regulator issued fines of 6,630 euros to the responsible persons (executives) of Nova TV and RTL for the same violation and ordered the broadcasters to make up for the shortfall in their investments in works by Croatian independent producers by 2024.
According to the transitional provisions of the Electronic Media Act (Article 101), television broadcasters were required to allocate at least 2.5% of their annual gross revenue earned from providing media services in 2023 for works by Croatian independent producers. Starting this year, the legal requirement has increased to at least 5%.
The law stipulates that broadcasters who fail to meet the set quota of Croatian independent producers’ works in one year must compensate for the shortfall the following year by increasing their contributions, as outlined by VEM in its regulations. VEM takes into account broadcasters’ obligations to provide news, educational, cultural, and entertainment content for viewers.
These legal provisions do not apply to local-level television broadcasters who are not part of a national network, broadcasters of specialized programs, or broadcasters with low revenue or small audiences, in accordance with guidelines issued by the European Commission.
The penalties for underfunding works by Croatian independent producers range from 100,000 to 1 million kuna (13,272 to 132,722 euros).
Source: Hina