The EU media regulator’s representative promised to “take care of” RT DE, amid claims that the channel has no right to broadcast in Germany.
The media authority of Berlin-Brandenburg (MABB) has pressed charges against RT DE, arguing it is a broadcaster based in Berlin and therefore subject to their authority.
This happened shortly after European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) chair Tobias Schmid called RT DE a “nuisance” that needs to be “taken care of.”
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![RT Editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan in the RT DE hardware room. © Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich](https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.12/thumbnail/61bcc5dc85f540162f4574f1.jpg)
Where is RT DE based?
While some RT DE content is created at a newsroom in Berlin, the actual headquarters of the channel are in Moscow, where all the editorial decisions are made. The Berlin newsroom produces some of the shows, but it does not broadcast – so it cannot be sued as a broadcaster.
How does RT DE broadcast?
The channel broadcasts German-language programming via satellite, with a signal originating in Serbia. RT DE received a broadcasting license in Serbia on December 6, 2021, which is valid through 2029.
RT previously applied for a broadcast license in Luxembourg as ‘RT auf Deutsch’, but was denied in August 2021. While multiple German media outlets reported that then-Chancellor Angela Merkel influenced Luxembourg’s decision, she officially denied this.
How is broadcasting from Serbia legal?
While Serbia is not a member of the EU, both Belgrade and Berlin are signatories of the European Convention of Transfrontier Television (ECTT). Germany ratified the treaty in 1991, while Serbia has been a party to it since 2010.