Economy
Hungary gov't wants to bury the hatchet with RTL Klub
The approval ratings of Orbán and his cabinet have been coming ever lower over the last few months, and now they are willing to bury the hatchet with RTL which has been highly critical of government measures.Népszabadság reported earlier that peace failed to be brokered at the end of 2014 and broadcaster ATV also learned that the cabinet is desperate to change RTL’s approach and sail to friendlier waters with the group.
444.hu has learned that things have progressed much further since. It said János Lázár, minister at the helm of the Prime Minister’s Office who represents the cabinet on this matter, has had several rounds of talks with Andreas Rudas, Executive Vice President overseeing RTL Group’s operations in Croatia, Hungary and the German radio business, as well as with Guillaume de Posch, Co-CEO of RTL Group. They met earlier in Munich, Germany, then in Parliament in Budapest last week and another important round is due to take place soon in Berlin.
The government wants to end this hostility before the 2 February visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, the owner of RTL Group, has filed an official complaint with the European Commission over the cabinet’s measures and talked about its predicaments in Hungary to Merkel too.
Over the last year, Orbán’s government has taken steps to exert control over Hungary’s media. It introduced a progressive tax on advertising revenues, though only one company is subject to the tax’s top rate. Yes, it is Hungary’s most popular commercial TV station, RTL Klub. The station filed an official complaint with the European Commission in October last year, but in the meantime the top tax rate was raised to a whopping 50% from the already high 40%.
Last summer, when RTL’s nightly news surprisingly started to act like a news programme is supposed to - using a more aggressive and critical tone over certain government measures -, Rudas and de Posch ensured the creators of their support, saying they were doing an excellent job and RTL stands behind them. By now, however, Dirk Gerkens, CEO of RTL Klub, is the only one who is still on board in respect, the portal said.
In response to RTL’s harsh and persistent criticism, Fidesz politicians attack the station’s journalists at press conferences or refuse to answer their questions.
“They consider our news to be opposition news," CEO Dirk Gerkens told Bloomberg Businessweek a few days ago.
“But that’s not the case. Our news is independent. We’re not going to talk about the guys in opposition that are basically doing nothing."
The CEO estimates that RTL will pay 90% of the revenue raised by the tax, although it commands only 15% of the market. If the tax remains next year, it will wipe out the company’s profits.
Gerkens added that he has also received threats of violence, delivered via friends or e-mails. He’s moved his family out of the country, left his apartment for a luxury hotel in central Budapest, and hired bodyguards.
“It’s not Russia or Mexico. But better safe than sorry."
444.hu learned that Gerken’s contract is to expire soon and it should be extended shortly.
He does not attend the negotiations, though. A well-informed source even told the portal that an agreement is soon to be reached and the following will happen:
444.hu said the cabinet is to broker a deal with Bertelsmann’s management in the coming days, but we should not expect any official announcement in this regard. It speculates that taking the nightly news in a different direction will not be a walk in the park even if an agreement is reached, because such a sharp U-turn would most likely lead to an uproar both among the news staff and the viewers.
Oliver Fahlbusch, head of corporate communications at RTL Group, confirmed to Népszabadság on Tuesday that there have been talks with Hungarian government officials. He said it would help also Hungary if these negotiations resulted in a sensible solution, i.e. if the advertising tax was revised without European Union action. He did not wish to go into details, but noted that RTL Klub will continue its independent news services.
444.hu has learned that things have progressed much further since. It said János Lázár, minister at the helm of the Prime Minister’s Office who represents the cabinet on this matter, has had several rounds of talks with Andreas Rudas, Executive Vice President overseeing RTL Group’s operations in Croatia, Hungary and the German radio business, as well as with Guillaume de Posch, Co-CEO of RTL Group. They met earlier in Munich, Germany, then in Parliament in Budapest last week and another important round is due to take place soon in Berlin.
The government wants to end this hostility before the 2 February visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, the owner of RTL Group, has filed an official complaint with the European Commission over the cabinet’s measures and talked about its predicaments in Hungary to Merkel too.
Over the last year, Orbán’s government has taken steps to exert control over Hungary’s media. It introduced a progressive tax on advertising revenues, though only one company is subject to the tax’s top rate. Yes, it is Hungary’s most popular commercial TV station, RTL Klub. The station filed an official complaint with the European Commission in October last year, but in the meantime the top tax rate was raised to a whopping 50% from the already high 40%.
Last summer, when RTL’s nightly news surprisingly started to act like a news programme is supposed to - using a more aggressive and critical tone over certain government measures -, Rudas and de Posch ensured the creators of their support, saying they were doing an excellent job and RTL stands behind them. By now, however, Dirk Gerkens, CEO of RTL Klub, is the only one who is still on board in respect, the portal said.
In response to RTL’s harsh and persistent criticism, Fidesz politicians attack the station’s journalists at press conferences or refuse to answer their questions.
“They consider our news to be opposition news," CEO Dirk Gerkens told Bloomberg Businessweek a few days ago.
“But that’s not the case. Our news is independent. We’re not going to talk about the guys in opposition that are basically doing nothing."
The CEO estimates that RTL will pay 90% of the revenue raised by the tax, although it commands only 15% of the market. If the tax remains next year, it will wipe out the company’s profits.
Gerkens added that he has also received threats of violence, delivered via friends or e-mails. He’s moved his family out of the country, left his apartment for a luxury hotel in central Budapest, and hired bodyguards.
“It’s not Russia or Mexico. But better safe than sorry."
444.hu learned that Gerken’s contract is to expire soon and it should be extended shortly.
He does not attend the negotiations, though. A well-informed source even told the portal that an agreement is soon to be reached and the following will happen:
- the cabinet will lower the advertising tax to under 10%, possibly as low as 5% (from 50% currently);
- Gerkens will leave RTL Klub; and
- in exchange political tones will be turned down in the nightly news.
444.hu said the cabinet is to broker a deal with Bertelsmann’s management in the coming days, but we should not expect any official announcement in this regard. It speculates that taking the nightly news in a different direction will not be a walk in the park even if an agreement is reached, because such a sharp U-turn would most likely lead to an uproar both among the news staff and the viewers.
Oliver Fahlbusch, head of corporate communications at RTL Group, confirmed to Népszabadság on Tuesday that there have been talks with Hungarian government officials. He said it would help also Hungary if these negotiations resulted in a sensible solution, i.e. if the advertising tax was revised without European Union action. He did not wish to go into details, but noted that RTL Klub will continue its independent news services.
