TV2, Hungary’s second most popular television broadcaster, competes with the privately owned RTL Klub for the leading position in the country’s television market. The channel began operating in 1997 with a generalist program. Initially, it was owned by ProSiebenSat.1, a German broadcast group. In 2014, TV2 was sold to two investors. A year later, it was acquired by Hungarian filmmaker Andrew G. Vajna. Following Vajna’s passing in 2019, the company was sold to Jozsef Vida. The group has plans to launch a lifestyle television channel in Poland.
Media assets
Television: TV2, LiChi TV, FEM3, Jocky TV, Moziverzum, Humor+, Izaura TV, KiWi TV, PRIME, Mozi+, Super TV2, Spiler1 TV, Spiler2 TV
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private (CaPr)
Ownership and governance
TV2 is not directly controlled by state structures. It is owned by Jozsef Vida, a retired hammer thrower who has recently become one of the leading entrepreneurs of the Fidesz party. The chairman of TV2 is Miklos Vaszily, another oligarch with very close relations to Prime Minister Orban. In the past, Vaszily has handled several key deals that led to the government’s takeover of Hungary’s main private media groups.
Source of funding and budget
TV2 is a commercially-run broadcaster that earns revenue from advertising. However, the outlet has also been a major recipient of state advertising funds in recent years, particularly after being purchased by Vajna, a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. For instance, in 2018, TV2 received 67% of the total revenues from state advertising in the television sector, which amounted to more than half of the channel’s operational expenditure. In contrast, the independent RTL Klub received only 1%.
According to data released by the broadcaster, TV2 Media Group, the company that runs the broadcaster, generated a total of HUF 47.3bn (€121m) in 2022 and reported net profits of HUF 1.2bn (€3m).
Editorial independence
There is abundant evidence confirming that TV2 has a pro-government agenda. Since it was taken over by Vajna in 2015, it has adopted a pro-government editorial line. Independent journalists have labeled TV2 a government communication channel; independent media outlets also refer to it as a “government-aligned” channel. Before the 2022 elections, several anchors at TV2 publicly encouraged people to vote for Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose supporters own TV2.
There is no domestic statute or mechanism of independent assessment or oversight that would validate TV2’s editorial independence.
August 2024