Armenian president signs amendments to law on mass media

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a law introducing amendments
to the law on television and radio, Panorama reports, citing the
presidential press-service.

On June 10th Armenia passed a law in the second reading switching
television and radio to digital broadcasting. Yerevan will have 18 TV
channels and 12 radio stations broadcasting in digital format, the
regions will have 9 TV channels and 4 radio stations. Switching to
digital broadcasting is necessary to meet EU directives.

A representative of the OSCE office in Yerevan on media issues, Dunja
Mijatovic, criticized the amendments, saying that the new law does not
guarantee pluralism within the media. Another disadvantage is the
limit on the number of TV channels and the lack of clear rules on
satellite, mobile and internet broadcasting. However, she pointed out
that courts will have the right to stop licensing TV channels based on
law, which infringes the freedom of media.