The Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services has responded to statements by MMA and MRT, describing as inaccurate and unsupported the claims that the Arena M1, Arena M2 and Arena M3 Premium program services are foreign channels retransmitted in the Republic of North Macedonia.

According to ASHMA, all actions in this case were undertaken in accordance with the powers defined under the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services.

The Agency explains that its assessment was based on the relevant documentation, as well as data and information obtained from the competent institutions of the Republic of North Macedonia and the relevant foreign entities.

Based on the materials reviewed, Arena M1, Arena M2 and Arena M3 Premium are considered foreign program services that are retransmitted, rather than domestic television services broadcasting programs within the country’s territory. This is because their source signal is not broadcast in the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia.

ASHMA also denied accusations that its decisions create opportunities to evade legal obligations, as well as claims of illegality in the actions of the Agency or its officials.

“If MMA and MRT have evidence of suspected unlawful actions by the Agency, we call on them to submit it to the competent institutions. At the same time, we stress that it is unacceptable to spread unfounded qualifications and insinuations that create the impression of illegal or arbitrary actions by the regulator solely for the sake of its own interests,” ASHMA said in its response.

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The Association of Media of Macedonia (AMM) and the public broadcaster RTM have expressed concern over indications that several new Serbian television companies, closely linked to state structures in Serbia, are circumventing and misusing legal provisions in North Macedonia.

In a joint statement, MMA and MRT described the way several new television channels linked to companies from Serbia operate as “seriously concerning.”

Their attention has focused on the sports channels Arena M1, Arena M2 and Arena M3 Premium. According to MMA and MRT, these channels have been operating without domestic licences for a long time, while ASHMAA classifies them as foreign programme services retransmitted in North Macedonia.

The two organisations consider this classification problematic because, according to them, the production teams, journalists, commentators and guests are based in Skopje. Studio programmes are also produced locally and broadcast in the Macedonian language.

Another issue they have raised concerns the status of the Arena channels. In the registers of Serbia’s media regulator, REM, Arena M1, Arena M2 and Arena M3 Premium do not appear to be registered. For MMA and MRT, this means that they do not have the status of domestic Serbian channels.

Meanwhile, in the lists of operators approved by AVMU, these channels appear as foreign services broadcasting content in the Serbian language.

MMA and MRT have called on investigative bodies and the competent institutions to verify whether this model has been used to evade the legal obligation to obtain a licence.

They are also seeking a determination of whether the failure to pay the licence fee caused damage to the state budget and whether the owners, the responsible officials of the television services or AVMU officials may bear responsibility for this.

Another part of the request concerns verifying the possible unauthorised use of television rights for premium sports content. MMA and MRT describe this practice as television piracy.

According to them, the illegal retransmission over many years of several regional channels, including channels from Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Serbia, must finally be examined by the Macedonian regulator.

The two organisations also warn that the same treatment must not be applied to Euronews Macedonia, a project expected to launch soon.

They oppose the possibility that AVMU could also categorise this channel as a foreign service, as it has done with the Arena Premium channels.

MMA and MRT claim that the owners and structures from Belgrade have signalled the implementation of such a model.

“The illegality tolerated today as an exception may become the rule tomorrow,” MMA and MRT warn.

In conclusion, the two organisations said they would turn to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Their request will be for an investigation into the actions of the competent institutions and the possible responsibility of the officials responsible at ASHMAA.

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