Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Maryana Bezugla, published a number of remarks on her Facebook page regarding the financing of the Public Broadcasting Service of Ukraine and its efficiency. According to her, the Public Broadcasting Service receives 2 billion hryvnias in state funding annually, and the number of views of the 90-minute show was only 1,000. These data raise reasonable doubts about the efficiency of spending budget funds on the development and functioning of public broadcasting in the country.
Bezugla noted that last week she joined the airwaves and attended the talk show “New Countdown” on Suspilny (Pershy) with Andriy Dikhtyarenko and Vlasta Lazur. Suspilny is part of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (NPBCU), which is funded by taxpayers, just like “Telemarathon.”.
“A 90-minute talk show on YouTube has only 1,000 views, while my regular Reels gets over 50,000 views, not to mention the video’s reach among professional bloggers. The question arises: is public broadcasting worth 2 billion hryvnias a year, what is its role as a state broadcaster, why do we have a separate public broadcasting and a separate “telethon”, what is their mission and who watches it?” Bezugla wrote.
The deputy emphasized that the UASC has over 4 thousand employees, and in 2024, almost 2 billion hryvnias were separately allocated for the UASC, and another 1.5 billion for the telethon separately. According to her, the employees of the Public Service are being protected from mobilization, and the salaries of the management are now very high.
Let us remind you that only 37% of Ukrainians use Telemarathon to obtain information.
