"Espreso," Priamyy, and Channel 5 were shut down due to the telethon's organizational issues, says Poturayev

The shutdown of some broadcasters occurred due to the insufficient organizational work on the national telethon.

The Head of Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Mykyta Poturayev voiced this opinion in his Ukrinform interview, Detector Media reports.

Answering the question about the reasons for the shutdown of Priamyy, Channel 5, and "Espreso," Poturayev said, "This happened because there are some issues in the national telethon's organization. The organization should be conducted more efficiently, so that all the channels that want to participate in the joint information project can find their place there."

According to him, a separate legal initiative is being drafted to regulate such matters. The Committee's representative have already discussed this issue with the members of the National Council on Television and Broadcasting.

"Essentially, the shutdown of the channels could only have been done by the Concern. The National Council approved no such decision. On the contrary, it will have to figure the situation out now. The draft bill that I already mentioned will allow to resolve such issues," Mykyta Poturayev said.

He noted that the telethon led to the changes in many channels' policy conceptions. "This has to be regulated. Right now the law is basically being violated in a way. There is the martial law. Some things are described there, but it still has to be brought into accordance with the entirety of media legislation," Mykyta Poturayev said.

As ІМІ has reported, on April 4, Channel 5, "Priamyy," and "Espreso" announced that on April 4 in the morning the Broadcasting, Radiocommunications, and Television Concern (BRTC) had shut down the broadcasting of these TV channels in T2 digital network. The channels declared that the shut down was illegal, as there is no document that would give the BRT Concern justifications for it, and that neither the National Council nor the Ministry of Defence, which is mandated to regulate the martial law, nor the NSDC or any other govenment bodies have approved any decisions about shutting the channels down.

Digital television provider "Zeonbud," which is currently subject to the governmental BRT Concern, is not aware of the reasons for "Espreso," "Priamyy," and Channel 5 being shut down.

The National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting has announced that it has not approved of the decision to shut down the "Priamyy," Channel 5, and "Espreso" channels, and does not have a mandate to do so.

On April 8, Media Movement and the Commission on Journalistic Ethics urged the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to intervene in the situation with the shutdown of "Espresso," "Priamyy," and Channel 5, to explain the reasons for it, and to renew their broadcasting.

On April 8, the staff of "Espreso," "Priamyy," and Channel 5 urged the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to react to the actions of the Broadcasting, Radiocommunications, and Television (BRT) Concern which, in their opinion, violate the constitutional rights of the channels' staff.

On April 14, the staff of "Espreso," "Priamyy," and Channel 5 issued an open letter to the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine Matti Maasikas about being banned from digital broadcasting.

On April 14, the staff of "Espreso," "Priamyy," and Channel 5 urged the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to bring the channels back on air.