RTVS limits costs while waiting for funds from the state budget

RTVS has announced it is restricting expenses while awaiting state budget funds, according to reports from its management. The organization’s administration stated during an extraordinary council meeting that it has been limiting costs since the beginning of the year and is striving to receive the allocated funds under the revised law on RTVS enacted in December. The meeting was called by five members of the board representing employees and the workers' council of RTVS. These include four employee representatives, Robert Pajek, Barbara Stegeman, Janez Pirc, and Gregor Drnovšek, and Ilinka Todorovski, representative of the workers’ council of RTVS. They requested information on how the administration is working to secure the budgeted funds in accordance with the new legislation. Under the revised law, programs for national communities are co-financed annually from the state budget at a rate of ten percent of the value of collected RTV contributions, while music production is co-financed at four percent. According to the administration, the organization should have received 7.76 million euros from the Ministry of Culture and government offices for national communities by the first half of this year. However, the organization noted that these funds had not yet arrived as of June 30. As a result, RTVS became indebted to the state treasury in June, owing 8.1 million euros after receiving payments from the unified treasury account. By the end of the month, it repaid 2.5 million euros, leaving a debt of 5.6 million euros. The administration emphasized that it is implementing a restrictive human resource policy, limiting external contractual work, carefully reviewing expenditures, optimizing production and business processes, and promoting greater integration of program content among television, radio, and digital platforms. In June, 1,999 employment contracts were signed, which is 30 fewer than at the end of 2025 and 25 less than planned. During the first half of the year, 30 positions were filled, while 60 employees left the organization. The administration warned that further cost reductions without adequate and stable funding are limited, as more drastic cuts could affect the execution of programming. Therefore, maintaining stable operations and uninterrupted public service remains the top priority. For the first half of this year, RTVS generated revenue of 80.21 million euros and incurred expenses of 78.04 million euros, resulting in a surplus of 2.17 million euros. Expenses were 3.72 million euros lower than planned, although revenues were also below expectations. The shortfall in advertising revenue amounted to 3.12 million euros, though the administration confirmed measures to address this area are already being implemented. Regarding liquidity issues, the administration pointed out that it recorded 7.76 million euros in anticipated funds for financing national community programs and music production for the first half of the year, even though these funds had not yet been received. This led to a debt of 8.1 million euros upon payment of salaries through the unified treasury account in June. By the end of the month, 2.5 million euros was repaid, reducing the debt to 5.6 million euros. The Ministry of Finance, which RTVS requested to increase the borrowing limit at the state treasury, confirmed on July 7 that the rights for using funds for RTVS financing are secured under the law on the state budget. It advised the organization to align the payment dynamics with the competent authorities, noting that any potential overdraft would merely be a temporary measure due to delays in expected inflows.