MPs Taguhi Ghazaryan and Sisak Gabrielyan from the ruling Civil Contract faction have introduced a legislative amendment proposing that the number of public television broadcasters should be no less than two.
Under current law, the minimum is three, meaning that if this change is adopted, one channel—potentially Shoghakat TV—could lose its public broadcasting status, according to Factor.am .
At present, "Public Television," "News," and "Shoghakat" are designated as public broadcasters. The authors of the bill argue that having three broadcasters leads to content duplication, resource fragmentation, and administrative challenges.
The proposal references European models, though it does not specify which countries employ similar systems.
While the draft does not explicitly state which channel would be cut, implications and past statements by government representatives point to Shoghakat TV.
Shoghakat was founded by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, which remains its main sponsor and owner of its assets. The Public Television and Radio Commission commissions spiritual and cultural programs from the channel, for which Shoghakat receives 220 million AMD from the state budget.
Last year, MP Taguhi Ghazaryan suggested reallocating these funds through a competitive process, arguing that a channel funded by a religious institution does not represent the entire public.
“Let it be a cultural channel, chosen through competition. It's unacceptable to hand it to a religious group that doesn't represent all citizens,” she said, also pointing out that the channel covers opposition rallies.
Earlier, Arsen Torosyan also proposed reallocating Shoghakat’s funds to "Public Television" to enhance its cultural programming.
At the time, Public Broadcaster Council Chairman Ara Shirinyan responded by emphasizing that having a spiritual-cultural channel is part of Armenia’s international obligations, fulfilled through Shoghakat. He also noted that creating a new cultural channel would require billions in resources.
Government discussions on Shoghakat intensified after Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, former leader of the Tavush Diocese, began protests demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation. The process has now moved into a practical phase amid Pashinyan’s call for Catholicos Karekin II’s resignation.
