“Catastrophic” situation at Slovenian pubcaster
OCTOBER 3, 2023 09.54 EUROPE/LONDON BY CHRIS DZIADUL

The president of RTV Slovenije has described the public broadcaster’s financial situation as “catastrophic”.

Speaking in a press conference and quoted by N1, Zvezdan Martic added that he had to sign a new loan in the first days of his tenure in order to pay salaries.

RTV Slovenije’s poor finances are blamed on the previous administration, headed by Andrej Grah Watmough, though the latter has described Martic’s accusations as “inaccuracies, untruths and lies”.

Martic said there was no handover of the business by the previous management and the loan he had to take out amounted to €4.7 million.

The previous management is accused of making the broadcaster’s financial situation look better than it actually was by the early sale of shares in Eutelsat.

In June it was forecast that until the end of the year expenses would exceed revenues by €6.3 million rather than the previously planned €0.7 million. Now, the former figure is expected to be €10 million.