Budapest Municipal Court Rejects Klubrádió Appeal over 92.9 MHz
The Budapest Municipal Court on Friday upheld the decision of Hungary’s top media authority to strip government-critical commercial Klubrádió from the use of the 92.9 MHz frequency.
Klubrádió challenged the National Media and Communications Authority’s (NMHH) decision in court in March, when the body closed a tender for the frequency without declaring a winner. The authority’s Media Council rejected Klubrádió’s offer for failing to comply with several requirements even though it was the sole bidder. The station popular with opposition listeners said in a statement that it considered the Media Council’s “excuses” against its bid “unlawful“.
Fachleute warnen vor Übernahme der letzten unabhängigen Medienhäuser in Ungarn euractiv.de - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from euractiv.de Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Hungary’s Media Authority’s (NMHH) Media Council provided Spirit FM a temporary license for the 92.9 frequency, the one for which Klubrádió’s bid had previously been controversially denied. While Spirit FM vows to air government-critical opinions, the decision once again raised controversy and Klubrádió suggests a private deal with the ruling forces.
As we previously reported, the last government-critical radio station in Hungary, Klubrádió, had to suspend analog broadcasting (since continued on the internet) from February 14th after a court rejected their appeal against a decision by media authority NMHH, which consists of only Fidesz-delegated members.
Hungarian MEPs were divided in their views on the state of media freedom in Hungary in a European Parliamentary debate on Wednesday, with ruling Fidesz slamming what it calls a “smear campaign” against the government, and the opposition decrying “the end of media plurality” in the country.
Addressing the debate on the state of media freedom in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia, Vera Jourová, the European commissioner for justice, consumer protection and equal opportunities, criticised the case of Hungary’s Klubrádió, a commercial broadcaster popular with opposition listeners that went off the air last month after losing an appeal to extend its licence. The commissioner said the radio station would remain silent until the conclusion of a legal procedure.
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