The organisation and ownership structure of the media sector
In Slovenia, 111 TV channels are officially registered in the Media Register that is established within the Ministry of Culture. Nine digital terrestrial television channels (all broadcasting in Slovene) can be viewed by more than 95% of the population: SLO1, SLO2, SLO3, TV3 mEDIAS, Pop TV, Kanal A, Planet TV, Golica TV and Pink SI.. Other television channels cover local and regional areas. One regional television channel (Vaš Kanal) obtained digital broadcasting license and it is broadcasted via national digital terrestrial multiplex (MUX-A). Other channels are transmitted through cable systems or IPTV, while some are broadcasted via local digital terrestrial broadcasting system. Foreign channels are available through cable and satellite; some, such as National Geographic, Discovery, Hallmark and HBO, broadcast their programmes with Slovenian subtitles, as local affiliates of the trans-national channels.
The public broadcaster, RTV Slovenia, includes Television Slovenia (Televizija Slovenija) and Radio Slovenia (Radio Slovenija). There are five public service television channels: SLO1, SLO2, and SLO3 are national channels, and Television Koper / Capodistria and Television Maribor (Tele M) are regional channels.
The public service broadcaster, Radio Slovenia, has eight channels. These are: Radio Slovenia 1, 2 and 3, Radio Koper, Radio Maribor, Radio Capodistria (for the Italian-speaking minority), Pomursko-Hungarian Radio (for the Hungarian-speaking minority) and Radio Slovenia International. According to the data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia for 2010, there are 116 radio channels of which 18 are of special importance. The second channel of TV Slovenia, SLO2, provides complementary programming. SLO2 is event-oriented, broadcasting mostly sports, documentaries, and arts. SLO1 lays great stress upon its informative role and reaches virtually all of Slovenia’s television households, while SLO2 reaches 99% of these households, RADIO Slovenia 3 (ARS) is dedicated to the areas of culture, art, science and education. Approximately three quarters of the programmes are occupied by music, especially serious music, extending from classical to contemporary. The Programme ARS also broadcasts radio plays, literary broadcasts, professional and scientific essays.
Below is an overview of the quotas imposed on television and radio channels of special importance:
- “Local television and radio channels of special importance” must cover 10% of the population of Slovenia and broadcast at least 30% of local in-house content production daily;
- “Regional television and radio channels of special importance” must cover between 10% and 50% of the population of Slovenia and broadcast at least 30% of regional in-house content production daily; and
- “Non-profit television and radio channels” must broadcast at least 30% of in-house production (news and current affairs, arts, educational, cultural and entertainment content) daily.
Channels (local, regional or student) defined as having special importance for their communities must provide local and regional content (news, current affairs and culture), or content dedicated to students.
In the past few years, media pluralism has been one of the most political issues of all government activities in Slovenia. In 2002, a category for media was introduced in the national budget for the first time (0.53%); in 2013 this percentage was 1.64% which is half of the amount dedicated to this purpose in 2005 (3.59% ). See also chapter 2.9.
Anti trust measures to prevent media concentration
Ownership
Potential investors have to receive permission from the Ministry of Culture if they intend to acquire 20% or more of the proprietary shares or the voting rights in newspaper, television or radio companies. The Mass Media Act (2005 latest amendment) which was adopted in 2001 is a way to be more precise and demanding regarding the provisions about ownership control and quotas. It foresees that the Ministry must consult the Agency for Post and Electronic Communication, the Securities Market Agency, the Competition Protection Office and Broadcasting Council, before ruling on such requests.
The Mass Media Act provides for some market transparency: by the end of February each year, broadcasters must publish their basic ownership data in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. For every owner in possession of more than 5% of the broadcaster’s proprietary shares or voting rights, they must disclose the name and surname of the individual, or the name and location of the company. The names of the managers must also be disclosed. The Ministry of Culture enters this ownership data into the Media Register, which is publicly accessible.
Cross-media ownership
In accordance with the Mass Media Act, owners can be involved in either radio or television broadcasting, but not in both. The owner of a radio or television channel can control up to 20% of the shares or voting rights at a daily newspaper and vice versa. There are no limits regarding cross-media ownership of magazines, radio or television channels. Advertising agencies cannot own or control more than 20% of the shares or voting rights of a radio or television channel. Telecommunications companies cannot own a radio or television channel.
The share of domestic vs. imported media programmes
Public TV
In accordance with the Audiovisual Media Service Act (2011)
- European audiovisual works must account for at least 50% of the annual transmission time of following channels of RTV Slovenia (SLO 1, SLO 2, SLO 3); and
- European audiovisual works by independent producers must account for at least 10% of the annual transmission time of following channels of RTV Slovenia (SLO 1, SLO 2). At least half of this works must have been produced in the last five years.
In accordance with the Mass Media Act:
- both channels of public service television transmission, SLO1 and SLO2, have to reserve at least 25% of their annual airtime for programmes produced in Slovenia; and
- the public service broadcasters must reserve 10% of their schedule for programmes by independent producers.
Table 5: The structure of TV Slovenia’s broadcasts 2010 (SLO1 and SLO2)
| Type of production | Total transmission time | Share / hours | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-house production | 17 520* | 5 898 | 33.7 |
| Slovenian AV works | 8 946** | 2 938 | 32.8 |
| Slovenian AV works Independent production | 2 938 | 781 | 26.6 |
| European AV works | 8 946 | 4 729 | 52.9 |
| European AV works Independent production | 8 964 | 1 320 | 14.8 |
| European AV works Independent production Recent works | 1 320 | 1 032 | 78.2 |
* Daily transmission time according to Article 66 of the Mass Media Act.
** Annual transmission time according to Article 92 of the Mass Media Act (excluding advertising, television sales, trailers, sports, news and TV games).
Private TV
The Mass Media Act only stipulates that 20% of the commercial stations’ daily broadcast time must be produced in-house or on the behalf of the broadcaster. In-house works, of at least 60 minutes’ duration altogether, must be shown between 18h00 and 22h00 hours each night. Two per cent of the stations’ annual broadcast time must consist of films of Slovenian origin or other works from the field of literature, science and art.
In accordance with the Audiovisual Media Service Act:
- European audiovisual works must account for at least 50% of the annual transmission time of every broadcaster; and
- European audiovisual works by independent producers must account for at least 10% of the annual transmission time of every broadcaster. At least half of this works must have been produced in the last five years.
Quotas of Slovenian music
The prescribed share of Slovenian music to be broadcast daily by radio or television programmes is 20%. This percentage is 40% in the case of national radio and television programmes and 25% for radio and television channels of special importance.
The main debates in the context of EU competition policies
The idea of prohibiting (mostly or totally) advertising in public service broadcasting, so that commercial stations would have the advertising market to themselves, is constantly vivid, especially in the times of changing media legislation However, as the nominal number of homes with televisions in Slovenia is small – only 680 000 (about 99% in 2008) – it seems unrealistic to expect that public service broadcasting could finance itself only from license fees.
Type of support provided by the government for the production and distribution of local content
Television and radio channels “of special importance”, in accordance with the Mass Media Act, receive, inter alia: preferential treatment when applying for broadcasting frequencies; lower prices for copyright; and free distribution by cable operators, where possible. They can also receive funds from the state budget, particularly the Ministry of Culture, for specific projects, such as arts, news, documentaries and so forth.
Arts and culture programmes
There are regular programme series with cultural or artistic content (as a part of a central information programme or in the form of magazines, documentaries etc.) broadcast from SLO 1 – Public TV. The share of these programmes, in total broadcasting, is approximately 5% (the figure is not precise because of different methodologies and definitions of such programmes).
Specific training programmes
There are many specific training programmes for journalists concerning intercultural dialogue and diversity of views, organised mostly by the Peace Institute and the Slovene Association of Journalists. Recently, the Peace Institute organised a series of seminars in cooperation with the British Embassy in Ljubljana, on themes such as multicultural societies and the media, the position of the Roma people in the Media, as well as the media and social / ethnic minorities.
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