September 28th, 2009
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Ailing state broadcaster MTV axes external production deals

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State television channel MTV is terminating all of its programmes that are made by independent production firms due to a lack of funds and will produce its own magazine programmes as of today.

MTV’s flagship political talk show “Nap-kelte” aired for the last time on Friday morning, as the channel cancelled its contract with the production firm that was meant to run until late next year. “Nap-kelte” could move to Story TV, according to the website Hírszerzõ.

The MTV board of trustees will discuss the “Nap-kelte” contract today, with heated debates expected, Napi Gazdaság writes. The daily adds that MTV upset advertising agencies by not running the commercials agreed in the breaks of “Nap-kelte”, and these firms are now considering suing for damages.

Szilárd Horváth will temporarily act as editor in chief of the political programme’s replacement “Ma reggel” (This Morning). Horváth was editor in chief of “MTV Híradó” (News) and the public life and political programme “a Hét” (The Week) in the Orbán-era.

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  1. Happy Camper says:
    September 28, 2009 at 1:50 pm

    So MTV has cancelled their number ’1′ communist propaganda show, Nap-Kelte!

    Good riddance to bad rubbish :-)

  2. Nyalasi says:
    September 28, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    @kemping, not so fast. MTV was never intended to be a Hungarian BBC. Instead, MTV is the official moutpiece of the government in charge of the country. At present time, it is the so-called Capitalistic Socialists.

    Nobody is forced to watch something they do not like, there are plenty of center-right alternative channels, like Hirt TV, Echo TV, etc.

    Problem here has got more to do with business contracts than with ideology. The indepndent TV show producers were given no notice at all by MTV, even though they all had valid long-term contracts with MTV.

    And now even the advertisers are screaming, obviously MTV is so poor, they do not have any money left for a single attorney who could have advised mgmt not to screw with the advertisers and default on them, too. These MTV folks are really, really stupid.

    There is absolutely no reason to continue propping up this all-useless MTV ragtag band of broken-down broadcaster, or Duna Television for that matter. There are plenty of for-profit outlets providing Hungarians with news and “entertainment,” all at better quality than what dirt-poor MTV could muster up.