Chairman of Armenia’s Television and Radio Commission, Tigran Hakobyan, has called for the introduction of stricter legislative controls on the broadcasting of foreign television channels within the country, warning of the dangers posed by unregulated foreign media content promoting external political agendas.
Speaking at a press conference, Hakobyan emphasized that without decisive regulatory measures, it would be impossible to prevent foreign powers from influencing Armenian public opinion through media manipulation.
“We find strict regulation of broadcasts of foreign television programs to be highly important. Legislative changes that would rule out the promotion of other countries’ political agendas in the public multiplex are needed,” he said, proposing exceptions only for children’s or cultural programming—provided it includes Armenian translation or subtitles.
Hakobyan cited past controversies involving Russian television content, which has drawn public criticism in Armenia for its perceived political messaging and narratives. “There was a lack of political will in the past to restrict such programs. If that had been done earlier, we wouldn’t be facing this situation now,” he noted.
However, the commission chairman made clear that the issue is not limited to Russian programming. He pointed to the French broadcaster ARTEfr, which had allegedly presented a South Caucasus map omitting Armenia. “Now, this television channel wants to enter the Armenian multiplex. If we allow the French side, we will have to allow other allies and friendly countries too,” Hakobyan argued, cautioning that doing so would turn Armenia’s publicly funded multiplex into a “theater of interstate clashes and information wars.”