Discounts Offered by Plahotniuc’s TV Channels – PRIME TV and Publika TV Halved their Fees for Election Advertising

The election campaign for local general and new parliamentary elections in October 2019 will cost less, since the TV channels announced much lower fees for election advertising. If during the February 2019 election campaign PRIME TV and Publika TV channels, owned by the former leader of the Democratic Party, Vladimir Plahotniuc, charged 4,000 EUR and 2,000 EUR per minute, respectively, these channels reduced their offer by 50% for the October election campaign. A number of TV channels published their offers for advertising space during the October 2019 elections. Media-azi.md analysed them and shares the existing information on this subject.

Thus, during the autumn election campaign, PRIME TV will charge 2,000 EUR per minute for election advertising space while Publika TV will request only 1,000 EUR per minute. PRIME TV has the most expensive offer on the election advertising market.

The advertising fee set in the previous election campaign by the Canal 2 and Canal 3 TV channels, the official owner of which is Oleg Cristal, former political advisor of Vladimir Plahotniuc, was of 1,500 EUR per minute. However, for the forthcoming campaign, Canal 2 set an advertising fee of 1,000 EUR and Canal 3 - 500 EUR per minute. 

The TV channels affiliated to Ilan Sor also reduced their advertising fees. One minute of election advertising at the Central Television, which cost 1,500 EUR in February, will now cost EUR 500; while Orhei TV is currently asking for 500 EUR per minute, half of the 1,000 EUR fee charged during the previous campaign.

The channels affiliated to socialists, NTV Moldova and Exclusiv TV, both owned by the PSRM MP Corneliu Furculita, did not change their fees of 500 EUR per minute. Accent TV channel, whose beneficiary is Vadim Ciubara, considered 'the shadow adviser’ to the President Igor Dodon according to RISE Moldova investigation journalists, who intends to re-broadcast the programs of the Russian channel ‘Pervyi Kanal’, is asking for 75 EUR per minute, compared to 50 EUR during the previous election campaign.

CTC Mega and Familia Domashniy TV channels are also asking for 1,000 EUR per minute of advertising.

Moldova 1 public broadcaster announced a fee of 900 EUR, PRO TV Chisinau – 840 EUR, Jurnal TV –  400 EUR and TV8 – 500 EUR per minute of election advertising.

Media expert Petru Macovei, Executive Director of the Association of Independent Press (API), previously stated for Media-azi.md that the huge fees for advertising set by the TV channels during the February election campaign were intentionally meant to create a financial obstacle for the opposition election contestants.

According to the Electoral Code, the fees for the air time granted to election contestants may not exceed the typically collected fee for commercial advertising.

Earlier, BC member Olga Gututui recommended to include provisions on the minimum and maximum price per minute of election advertising in the Electoral Code, so that all election candidates would operate under equal conditions and would have the opportunity to advertise on all media platforms.