Ongoing Dispute on the Retrieve of TV-Company Iberia’s Broadcasting License To Be Finished With Agreement

Interpresnews

According to spread information, ongoing dispute about the retrieve of the TV-Company Iberia’s broadcasting license will be finished with agreement. According to the Georgian National Communication Commission, late Badri Patarkatsishvili’s family owns the TV-Company Iberia’s broadcasting license. 

Head of Public Relation Department of the Georgian National Communication Commission Khatia Kurashvili told Interpresnews that in December of 2008 Ltd Aisi presented the resolution of December 9, 2004 at the Vake-Saburtalo district office of the GNCC with enclosed meeting protocol of the Ltd Iberia-TV partners.

“Meeting protocol shows that the company was divided in natures – Iberia TV maintained all sorts of movable and immovable properties and broadcasting license was assigned to the TV-Company Iisi,” Khatia Kurashvili said.

She added that the Law on Broadcasting was not in force at that time and the Company was not obliged to obtain any preliminary notification from the GNNC on assigning the broadcasting license to other company. According to Kurashvili, Ltd Aisi is still the owner of the Iberia-TV’s frequency and the former is owned by the Company Georgian Media Production Group. The latter is owner of the TV-Company Imedi. GNNC representatives clarified that entertainment channel Play-TV was broadcasted from Ltd Aisi’s frequency. 

“TV-Company Imedi’s founder company owned two broadcastings. One of them was license on general broadcasting, owned by TV-Imedi and the second was entertaining channel. After 2012 parliamentary elections, when TV-Imedi was returned to Badri Patarkatsishvili’s family, Company Georgian Media Production Group was fully assigned to the family of the late businessman and now they own two broadcasting companies – TV-Imedi and Play-TV,” Kurashvili said.

She added that court-disputes between TV-Iberia and Ltd Aisi are approaching the end. On July 26, 2013 GNNC extended broadcasting license of the TV-Company Aisi for ten years. Representative of the Iberia TV also attended this meeting.

“The representatives publicly stated at the meeting that their court proceedings were approaching the end and the Companies intended to agree. Consequently, representative of TV-Iberia was not against extension of the license,” Khatia Kurashvili said.

Interpresnews called Lasha Birkaia, lawyer of the Patarkatsishvilis’ family, who said that he is not ready to speak about this issue yet and will answer our questions in several days.

Reportedly, founder of Omega Group Zaza Okuashvili is about to retrieve frequency of the Iberia TV and started negotiations with the owners of TV-Company TV9 with the purpose to purchase it. TV9’s director general Luba Eliashvili confirmed with IPN that Okuashvili decided to purchase TV9. She clarified that TV-Company Iberia intends to retrieve its frequency that was illegally seized from them.