CRO TV COUNCIL SUGGESTS CHANGES TO LAW ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ZAGREB, July 9 (Hina) - The Croatian Radio-Television (HRT) Council on Friday called on MPs members of the council to propose changes to the Law on Telecommunications at parliament's first autumn session, to the effect of ensuring nine minutes of commercials per hour on the television's first two channels, and twelve on the third. The HRT Council today concluded the subscribers' fee would not be raised, nor dismissal notices given to HRT employees. Discussing HRT's commercial operations, with a US$7 million loss in this year's first five months, the HRT Council said the situation would continue to deteriorate were commercials reduced to four minutes per hour, as envisaged in the recently adopted Law on Telecommunications. The council decided to make a request to the government to exempt the HRT from paying Value Added Tax, and to ensure that programmes of special national interest be co-financed by state budget money. HRT's entire earnings in the first five months of this year reached US$44 million, 72 percent of what has been implemented, including US$14.2 million earned through commercials. Expenses in the same period amounted to US$51 million. The council today adopted a draft on HRT's programme directives motioned by editor-in-chief Obrad Kosovac. The first and second channels would be profiled as "national channels", whereas the third would continue to feature sports and entertainment. The HRT Council also formed a task group which is to draft a plan on how to follow parliamentary elections, and monitor the time granted political parties on television. Today's session was not attended by council members from the Opposition Six group. (hina) ha jn