Portugal will carry out a profound remodeling of RTP but postpones its privatization

The Portuguese executive plans to dismiss 600 of RTP's 2,069 workers (a third of the workforce) in a reform whose budget amounts to 42 million euros. For the moment, privatization would be postponed.

With a budget of 42 million euros, the Council of Ministers of Portugal has given the green light to a profound restructuring of Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP).
However, the Portuguese Government has declined, for the moment, to privatize the public broadcaster, as it had announced, given the "unfavorable situation in the markets." The Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Miguel Relvas, has already announced that this reform process will be “very demanding and painful.” Regarding privatization, he has assured that "the proposal expressed in the Government program is maintained."

Relvas believes that it is viable to have television with more quality and less money and hopes, after the changes, that the state channel will have "a more daring and modern vision." In 2012, RTP cost 540 million euros. For this year, the Government plans to increase income through advertising and with the audiovisual tax that the Portuguese pay along with their electricity bill. Starting in 2014, RTP will no longer receive any subsidy.

Given the plan announced by the Portuguese Government, the president of the Board of Directors of RTP, Alberto da Ponte, has completely rejected it, clarifying that more than a restructuring plan what exists at the moment is "just an intention. No decision, however, is closed. We will give priority to dialogue with the structures that represent the employees."

In a statement to Express, Alberto da Ponte admits that in the event of the dismissal of workers “everything will be negotiated.” The Portuguese executive plans to lay off 600 of RTP's 2,069 workers (a third of the workforce).

EBU reaction

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has urged Lisbon in relation to the reform of its partner RTP for the Government to “prioritise the quality of the station's production in its planned restructuring”.

The general director of the EBU, Ingrid Deltenre, who last September described the privatization of RTP as “reckless”, has assured that the Government must protect the public broadcaster's ability to serve the Portuguese public.

"Efficiency savings are a necessary evil in many countries, and many EBU members face financial difficulties. But when times are tough, people in turn, more than ever, ask their radio and television for a reliable and quality public information service," said Deltenre.

The director of the EBU added that she finds it “encouraging to see that the Portuguese Government has committed to creating a modern, future-proof public broadcasting service, while devising what appears to be a realistic financing strategy.”