In Berlin-Adlershof, on the grounds of the Media and Technology Park, where East German television stopped broadcasting 30 years ago, a state media company has again had its headquarters since 2015. The modern building Am Studio 16 is emblazoned with the RT Deutsch logo. Here, RT DE Productions GmbH, a subsidiary of the Russian state media company “TV Novosti”, produces a website, video shows, content for social media and, since December 16, 2021, also a television program. According to RT Deputy Editor-in-Chief Anna Belkina, the RT DE television channel will receive a budget of 2.8 billion rubles (about 32 million euros) from the Russian state budget in 2022.
On the day after the start of broadcasting via the Eutelsat 9 B satellite, the responsible media authority Berlin-Brandenburg MABB, in coordination with the ERGA (Group of European Regulatory Authorities), initiated proceedings because the Russian foreign broadcaster apparently did not have a German broadcasting license. The media regulators are of the opinion that the offer is clearly broadcasting and that RT DE Productions GmbH, based in Berlin, is responsible for the program in terms of media law. According to Article 52 of the Media State Treaty, private broadcasters require a license to broadcast radio programmes.
After “TV Novosti” was given the opportunity to comment, on February 1, the “Commission for Admission and Supervision” (ZAK) of the media authorities dealt with the legality of the distribution of the RT German program, since it is a nationwide issue. Due to the fact that RT DE Productions GmbH has not applied for a license and does not have one, the ZAK prohibited the event broadcast of RT’s television program in Germany in its meeting on Tuesday, thus confirming the decision of the MABB in December which has ceased broadcasting via Eutelsat’s 9B satellite.
The central question is: Who is the organizer of the program?
As Wolfgang Kreissig, chairman of the supervisory authority and the directors’ conference of the state media authorities (DLM), emphasized to this newspaper, the program content played no role in the ZAK decision. “It’s about the upstream question of who is the organizer of the program and whether they have a license,” says Kreissig. The Commission found that the editorial responsibility for the program content of RT DE lies with the German RT DE Productions GmbH and is therefore subject to a license. “The MABB has proof that RT Productions GmbH is the organizer,” adds Eva Flecken, director of the responsible media authority. Publicly accessible sources were used for the procedure. The statements published by the organizers also play a role. The collection of evidence was available to all directors so that they could form a comprehensive judgment on the basis of which the resolution was passed.
Is this going to end soon? The editorial offices of the Russian foreign broadcaster RT DE are housed in this building.
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Image: dpa
In its statement, the ZAK points out that “the organizer of RT DE cannot invoke any other legitimate permission under European law”. With this, the Commission is referring to the statement by “TV Novosti” and Russian government officials that a broadcasting license from the non-EU state Serbia was available and on the basis of the “European Convention on Transfrontier Television” of 1989. The program would therefore have to be broadcast in Germany to be spread. In Luxembourg, a license was rejected in 2021 with reference to German jurisdiction.
The concept of broadcasting, as Wolfgang Kreissig explains, is not tied to distribution channels. The objection and ban therefore affect all distribution channels, in particular as a live stream on the websites, via the mobile and smart TV app “RT News” and via satellite. However, RT DE can continue to make its content available “on demand” – i.e. not linearly or “live”. According to Flecken, there is no legal provision for objecting to the ZAK decision. However, RT Productions GmbH can have the decision of the MABB reviewed by the administrative court in Berlin.
For the linear distribution of the program, the Russian state television can in principle apply for a license, says Kreissig. This will be granted if the required admission requirements of the Media State Treaty are met and there is no ban on admission. This may be difficult, because the media state treaty clearly regulates: “A license may not be granted to legal entities under public law…to their legal representatives and senior officials as well as to political parties and voter associations. The same applies to companies that are in the relationship of an affiliated company within the meaning of Section 15 of the German Stock Corporation Act to those named in sentence 1. Sentences 1 and 2 apply accordingly to foreign public or state bodies.”