UPDATE: RTV and Realitatea TV fined by the National Audio-Visual Council. See reasons

UPDATE:  The National Audio-Visual Council (CNA) has fined both RTV, run by Sebastian Ghita, former manager of Realitatea Media, and Realitatea TV, run by Elan Schwartzenberg, current owner of the Realitatea Media group, for not fulfilling their obligations under the CNA authority.

 Thus, Realitatea TV will have to pay a fine of RON 10,000 (more than EUR 2,000) because it started broadcasting from a new headquarters without the approval of the CNA.

 On the other hand, RTV was fined with RON 20,000 (more than EUR 4,600) for broadcasting from studios without authorization and its programs were not approved by the regulator.

 Realitatea TV has been broadcasting from the new headquarters at Willbrook center since Sunday evening, this being the last in a series of attacks that the two businessmen involved in this situation, Elan Schwarzenberg, owner of the media group, and Sebastian Ghita, former manager of the group, have been launching against each other.

 After Rovigo, the legal administrator appointed by the Bucharest Court in charge of the Realitatea Media insolvency, denounced the management contract between the media entity and Asesoft International, controlled by Ghita, employees started migrating to the new entity founded by Ghita, RTV Satellite. This entity also had a broadcasting license.

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In an internal letter sent to employees, Schwartzenberg said this was an attempt to take over the media group.

 On Sunday, Realitatea TV started broadcasting from its new studios at Willbrook center after Schwarzenberg took over the control of the broadcast and the distribution to the cable companies.

 Even though former manager Ghita was broadcasting from the old headquarters at The Free Press House (under a new company called RTV), the cable companies were no longer picking up his signal, so his content did not reach viewers anymore.

 Elan Schwarzenberg, owner of Realitatea Media, said there have been pressures on the team of the TV channel as well as on Rovigo, the company in charge with the insolvency of Realitatea Media, “to do things that were against the law.” 

 The owner of the media group also said he is backed up by a strong financial group from abroad, mainly Israel.

 He also said that less than EUR 5 million would be necessary to pay all the debts of the media group. “I can guarantee that I have this money,” he added.

 There is still equipment to be recuperated from the old headquarters, at the Free Press House. In case this is not possible, Schwarzenberg said he is ready to come up with new equipment.

 This will be followed by restructuring what is left in the media group such as Radio Guerilla, Money Channel etc.
Otilia Haraga