The transition period will last for one year, and the law itself will come into force in 4 months.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the Draft Law No.5313 “On Amendments to Some Laws of Ukraine on the Language of Audiovisual (Electronic) Mass Media”. The law warrants quotas for Ukrainian-language content on television.
“The MPs worked brilliantly, and I am pleased and honored to sign the relevant law”, as the head of state reported on his Facebook profile.
Let us recall that on March 16, the Verkhovna Rada approved in principle in its first reading the Draft Law No.5313. On May 23, the Draft Law was voted for by 269 MPs.
The law stipulates that the Ukrainian-language content on the air of national channels shall be 75% of the running time of broadcasts during the day in each of the time intervals: between 7:00 and 18:00 and between 18:00 and 22:00.
As for the air of regional TV channels, the Ukrainian language shall occupy 60% of their broadcasting time. Three quarters of all news on the air of Ukrainian channels shall be presented in the national language.
The Draft Law No.5313 has both supporters and opponents. The opinion of the TV market players can be read in the article Language Quotas on Ukrainian Television: “Pros” and “Cons”.
