Asparez Journalists’ Club Chair Levon Barseghyan sent a letter to Armenia’s National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR) President Grigor Amalyan, highlighting violations as a result of its Dec. 31, 2010, and Jan. 1, 2011, monitoring of Armenian Public TV (H1).

According to Asparez Journalists’ Club’s observations, from 7:52 am till midnight on Dec 31, 2010, the television station broadcast 2 hours, 1 minute and 57 seconds of commericals during a span of 16 hours, 7 minutes and 34 seconds, which comprised 12.6% of the overall programming on the station that day. Asparez notes that this is a violation of the RA Law on TV and Radio, which stipulates that advertisements must not exceed 7% of overall programming.

The journalists’ club also notes that on twelve occasions, the volume of commercial advertising broadcast per hour exceeded 4 minutes and 12 seconds (again, more than the maximum 7% defined by law).

The monitoring conducted by Asparez also found that during the 24-hour period from midnight on Dec. 31 to midnight on Jan. 1, the television station broadcast 2 hours, 20 minutes and 28 seconds of commercials, which comprised 9.75% of the overall programming on the station that day. Again, Asparez finds this to be in violation of the RA Law on TV and Radio, which stipulates that advertisements must not exceed 7% of overall programming.

During the same period, on thirteen occasions, the volume of commercial advertising broadcast per hour exceeded 4 minutes and 12 seconds (again, more than the maximum 7% defined by law). No violations were recorded in the remaining 11 instances (in the 24-hour period).

Barseghyan attached to the letter their transcribed table of all the programs on H1 on Dec. 31, 2010, and Jan. 1, 2011, asking the Commission to investigate the facts mentioned and take appropriate action toward making those responsible for the violations accountable for their actions.

Amalyan responded to Barseghyan’s letter, informing him, “the issues raised require further examination, which, along with the measures taken, you will be informed about later.”

Asparez Journalists’ Club notes that it continues to monitor H1, and it will make a statement on the amount of advertising broadcast on the channel in the near future.