TV Gagauzia
TV Gagauzia is the national public television station with nationwide coverage, being part of the Public Institution Gagauziya Radio Televizionu Public Company. Until 2007, television operated only 30 minutes per day and was available only in the Comrat municipality region. The situation changed after GRT received help from the Turkish Development and Cooperation Agency in 2007. In May 2022, the GRT Public Broadcasting Company stopped analog television broadcasting and was included in the national multiplex - digital terrestrial television, which today covers 98% of Moldova's territory. TV-Gagauzia broadcasts 24 hours a day and broadcasts 80% of its own content: 25% analytical programs, 20% cultural-educational programs, 14% music, 1% advertising, and 20% other genres.
The most important programs are: "News" - the main daily news bulletin, which appears in two languages, "De facto" - analysis and debate program, which appears in Romanian and other programs in Russian and Gagauz languages.
The history of television begins at the end of 1989, when local enthusiasts established the "TV Comrat" television studio in Comrat. As a result of reorganization processes in the late 90s, the television became regional and took the name "Gagauz TV". In 2000, with financial and technical support from the International Organization TIKA in Moldova, a radio association was established, and later, radio and television merged into a single media structure - the State Company "Teleradio Gagauzia". The company existed in this status for 7 years and was then transformed into a public one in accordance with the "Radio and Television Law" adopted in 2007 by the People's Assembly of Gagauzia. In March 2016, the People's Assembly of Gagauzia adopted a new Law "On Television and Broadcasting," under which TV-Gagauzia operates today. Several non-governmental organizations raised alarm then, mentioning that the draft law would violate national legislation and would generate limitation of freedom of expression in the region. Similarly, the draft law would contain many contradictions and would rebuild the Public Company on principles absolutely contrary to the public spirit of a broadcaster.
Eight years after adoption, experts found that the Law adopted in March 2016 does not have an integral and logically coherent structure. Among other things, a study from June 2024 mentioned that the law does not regulate the concept of propaganda and disinformation.
The editorial policy of the public television station in the Gagauz region has been influenced by the ruling political parties and leaders, with the television management or the Supervisory Council often being changed along with changes in governance.
The new management installed in 2022 promoted pro-Russian narratives and discredited Moldova's European integration. Several deputies of the People's Assembly of Gagauzia condemned the actions of the GRT Company's Supervisory Council chairman, Mihail Vlah, for supporting the former Shor party. He was accused of serving party interests and introducing censorship on television. The former GRT director, Ecaterina Jekova, and the former editor of the GRT website, Oxana Chihaial, also spoke about GRT management's subservience to the new power installed in Gagauzia and GRT's promotion of Moscow's propaganda narratives.
In recent years, GRT has been sanctioned several times by the Audiovisual Council, especially for spreading disinformation. At the same time, media NGOs have consistently expressed concern over the past year about ethical violations within the GRT company, condemning elements of censorship. Also scandalous was the television management's decision to broadcast programs from a TV station blocked by authorities, whose broadcasting license was not extended and which was affiliated with Ilan Shor. This decision was criticized by experts in the field, according to whom this situation is evidence that Ilan Shor controls the public broadcaster in the Gagauz region. The range of guests on TV-Gagauzia changed dramatically after Shor's control was established, say independent journalists from the region. People loyal to Shor began to be invited to shows, and politicians and deputies who expressed critical opinions about Shor and the Executive Committee of Gagauzia ceased to appear.
Key Facts
| Audience Share | Missing Data |
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| Ownership Type | Public |
| Geographic Coverage | National |
| Content Type | Free |
| Data Publicly Available | ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc. |
Ownership
| Ownership Structure | TV Gagauzia is part of the Public Institution Gagauziya Radio Televizionu Public Company (GRT). The governing body of the Company is the Supervisory Council, which is superior to GRT. The Supervisory Council is an independent autonomous body, representing Gagauzia's society, which exercises supervision and control over the Company's activities. The Council has nine members, appointed by the People's Assembly of Gagauzia, for a single four-year term. These are representatives of civil society from Gagauzia, specialized in various fields of activity. The Council approves the GRT Company statute, its operational and organizational regulations, develops strategies aimed at preserving the ethnic, historical-cultural, and linguistic identity of the Gagauz people, publishes Company evaluation reports, and at the proposal of the Company's executive director, appoints and dismisses their deputies - the television editor-in-chief and radio editor-in-chief. The Council also organizes the competition for the position of company general director. The Company is led by an executive director, appointed by the Supervisory Council following a competition. The executive director is appointed for a 4-year term. The operation of the Gagauz public media service provider is ensured by the executive director and their deputies. They develop the draft budget, and the Supervisory Council approves it, after which the document is sent for examination to the Executive Committee of Gagauzia, and subsequently to the People's Assembly of Gagauzia for adoption. Eight years after the adoption of the Law "On Television and Broadcasting," under which the company operates today, it was noted that one of the biggest deficiencies of this law is the regulation of GRT activities: the supervisory council's powers obviously limit the public broadcaster's editorial independence. These inconsistencies also create premises for significant influence from political factors on public media institutions. |
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Media Companies / Groups
Facts
| Founding Year | 1989 |
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| Contact | 134 Lenin Street MD-3805 Comrat municipality grt.efir@mail.ru 0298-2-69-34 www.grt.md |
| Revenue | Missing Data |
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| Operating Profit | Missing Data |
| Advertising (in % of total funding) | Missing Data |
| Market Share | Missing Data |