Public broadcasters in Europe are being hit by a wave of funding cuts. After Greece, Britain, Spain and Italy, Cyprus is about to be hit by the crisis. An analysis ordered by the Cyprus Ministry of Interior from PWC, concerning strategic, operational planning and reorganization of the CyBC is about to be published. According to press reports, the analysis may suggest funding cuts and layoffs, which could result in the closure of one of the two television channels and the second radio program (out of three). The second program is a multilingual service that broadcasts in Turkish, Armenian and English, addressed to the inhabitants of the island who do not speak Greek.

Already in March, the cabinet cut € 300.000 from the budget of state broadcaster while sending a message to the managers of the CyBC, as the administration of the institution did not undertake the required cuts requested by the Government. The budget of RIK for 2014 included a revenue of € 30,4 million and depreciation costs, while € 24 million will come from state funding which is reduced by 8% ie € 3,4 million compared to 2013. CyBC plans advertising revenues of € 6 million. The government asked for a 40% reduction to the allocation of programs costs, but the reduction made by the CyBC was 1.5%.

At the same time the employees started mobilizing, as they made a protest and announced a general meeting on Thursday to discuss the possible layoffs and wage cuts. As noted by the trade unionists, many shift workers were surprised as their salary git reduced by 150 to 250 euros due to a decrease of 75% over the already significantly reduced compensation for working on Sundays and holidays.

Sources: Χαραυγή [4], Stock Watch [5], Τυπολογίες [6]