PBS fined more than €10,000 by Broadcasting Authority over budget spots

The national TV station has been fined €10,480 by the Broadcasting Authority after it was found guilty of airing budget publicity spots in breach of the authority’s directives.

In a ruling delivered late last month, the BA ordered the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) to pay the fines within 60 days and carry the BA’s decision in its news bulletin within two days.

The complaints over the budget spots were made by the Nationalist Party that claimed they constituted partisan political advertising on a matter of public controversy. PBS had also defied a court order not to air political advertisements.

The BA found in favour of the complainant and fined PBS €4,660 for each of two instances and €1,160 for a third instance. In a fourth instance, the BA simply reprimanded the station.

In a statement on Monday, PN secretary general Michael Piccinino and MP Claudette Buttigieg said the fines should be paid by those who broke the law and not by taxpayers.

However, they also accused PBS of “burying” the news of the BA’s decision when this was read as the last item in the Christmas Eve bulletin on TVM.

“The news was delivered in a way that was incomprehensible, with no reference to the cases PBS was found guilty of, nor the fact that it was the PN that lodged these complaints,” Piccinino and Buttigieg said.

They accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of using the national station as if it were “Super One 2”, a reference to the Labour Party’s TV station.

“Out of weakness, Robert Abela continues to compel PBS to break the law by illegally broadcasting propaganda advertisements in favour of the Labour government,” the PN spokespersons said.