Parliament’s constitutional and justice committee on Monday unanimously approved a proposal to set up a body to examine a decision to award tenders for radio frequencies previously used by two pop radio stations. The decision made by Hungary’s top media authority is widely seen as a political stitch-up.
The proposal was submitted by Free Democrats leader Janos Koka on October 28.
“The decade’s most serious corruption scandal or the possibility of such a scandal is unfolding in front of our eyes” Koka told the committee.
It has been suggested that backroom fixers of the governing Socialists and the main opposition Fidesz made a deal to allow one applicant supported by the left to acquire one frequency and another applicant supported by the right to acquire the other, Koka added.
Hungary’s media supervisory authority ORTT, which is in charge of awarding frequencies, made decisions at the end of October which resulted in incumbent pop-music stations Slager Radio and Danubius Radio losing their licences to operate for the next seven years. The two companies which own the stations respectively have started lawsuits, while the head of ORTT resigned in protest at the body’s decision.
The frequencies were awarded to Advenio Zrt. and a consortium called FM1.
