Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) is the public service media company in Cyprus. It was established in 1953 as Cyprus Broadcasting Service. Today, the broadcaster runs four radio channels, two television stations and an international service (RIK Sat) that caters to the Cypriot diaspora.
Media assets
Television: CyBC 1, CyBC 2, CyBC HD, RIK Sat, RIK World
Radio: First Channel, Second Channel, Third Channel, Fourth Channel, External Service
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
CyBC was established as a legal entity by the CyBC Law. It is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of nine members who are appointed by the country’s government (Council of Ministers). In January 2022, Thanasis Tsokos was appointed CEO of CyBC by the company’s board.
Source of funding and budget
CyBC was funded through revenues raised via a tax on electricity (a disguised form of license fee added to every household’s electricity bill) until 2000. Now, the broadcaster is majority-funded by the government through a subsidy from the state budget. In 2019, the broadcaster received a state subsidy of €32.8m, according to the latest data available publicly.
In 2022, CyBC admitted that it was facing financial problems, pledging to “modernize” its operations. MPs castigated CyBC for employing too many people, and asked the broadcaster to trim its expenditures.
Editorial independence
As CyBC stopped operating as a government department as of 1959, there are no government-imposed rules on the broadcaster’s editorial policy. However, as the government has full decision over the station’s yearly budget and board of directors, the political parties in power exert indirect control over the station’s editorial coverage. For every of its decisions, CyBC relies entirely on the government and generally the broadcaster serves the interests of the political party in power, according to academic studies. Last year, concerns about the criteria used in inviting MPs to shows aired by the broadcaster stirred a heated debate.
No domestic statute or independent assessment mechanism to validate the editorial independence of CyBC have been identified.
September 2023